Since the passing of the Traditional Leaders Act in Zimbabwe in 1998, the state’s recognition and incorporation of traditional leadership in governance has increased considerably. This has coincided with the emerging political and economic crisis in the country, with traditional leaders being increasingly empowered as actors in local governance alongside locally elected democratic governments. Through the prism of natural resource management schemes in the Gokwe area of Zimbabwe, this chapter discusses the contested status of traditional leaders in decentralized democratic governance,1 as well as relating the specific Zimbabwean context to the wider debate over the relationship between processes of democratization, decentralization, and the recognition of traditional authority. In particular the chapter asks what are the consequences of the increased state recognition of traditional leaders for questions of accountability, governance, and legitimacy in rural areas.