arguably payback for appreciation of the services they rendered in their areas of jurisdiction.26 These goodies and gifts have worked to incentivise the traditional leaders to act as campaign managers and agents of the ruling party. Following his ascendency to power in 2017, President Emmerson Mnangagwa convened a forum with chiefs in the city of Gweru and offered them motor vehicles and improvement of their welfare. Critiques equated this to swaying traditional leaders’ allegiance to the incumbent party and president ahead of the 2018 elections. The legal basis for the vehicles and other goodies that chiefs receive are not generally outlined as official benefits that are legitimately expected in terms of the terms and conditions of the office of a chief. They are not clearly laid down in advance but just given at the time that the ruling party decides, usually at the most convenient political period to the ruling party’s interests. Mnangagwa won this election, amid stiff competition and allegations of manipulation of votes by the closest contender, Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A).27 As recipients of benefits and incentives from incumbent governments, traditional leaders are accused of disregarding their traditional role as they become appendages to ruling parties. As payback to ruling parties, for the goodies they receive from them, traditional leaders often mobilise supporters for the ruling party in their areas of jurisdiction ahead of elections. For these reasons, Dominika Koter labelled traditional leaders “king makers,” who use their authority, power and resources to directly influence the electoral behaviour of their subjects.28 26 27 28 29 30 31 AS PAYBACK TO RULING PARTIES, FOR THE GOODIES THEY RECEIVE FROM THEM, TRADITIONAL LEADERS OFTEN MOBILISE SUPPORTERS FOR THE RULING PARTY IN THEIR AREAS OF JURISDICTION AHEAD OF ELECTIONS Just as in the colonial era, post-independence governments have used the “carrot and stick” method to coerce the conformity of traditional leaders. For instance, three traditional leaders were threatened with demotion and expulsion by the Minister of Local Government for failing to attend a ZANU PF meeting meant to evict a former party member, Temba Mliswa from Spring Farm in Hurungwe West constituency.29 The three leaders were accused of boycotting ZANU PF meetings because they supported and sympathized with Temba Mliswa. They were violently attacked and threatened with dethronement by the then Minister of Local Government, Ignatius Chombo.30 This highlights the risks of being apolitical and the insecurity in the offices of the traditional leader. Similarly, Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni, a longtime critic of the ruling party, was stripped of his crown, jailed, and later released, and what triggered this was arguably his stance on the government’s alleged human rights violations and his perceived alignment with opposition politics.31 Many traditional leaders fear the same predicament and bow to the demands of the ruling party instead. Chigwata (n 3) 243. F Fayawo ‘Zimbabwe’s 2018 Elections: The Changing Footprints of Traditional Leaders’ (2018). D Koter ‘King Makers: Local Leaders and Ethnic Politics in Africa’ (2013) 65 World Politics 188. Zinyama and Ors v The State and Anor ZHRC/CI/33/15. As above. ‘Chief Ndiweni released from prison after securing bail pending appeal’ ZimLive 29 August 2019. 11