The targeting of cash transfers is frequently portrayed as a technocratic exercise: the choice of which geographical areas should be focused on and what characteristics beneficiaries should have are decided by technocrats and subsequently implemented. Based on qualitative fieldwork in Lesotho and Malawi in 2016/17 however, I argue that the entire process leading up to the approval of the targeting criteria is inherently politicised as various national and international stakeholders such as politicians and donors attempt to use the targeting process to further their specific objectives. Community-based-targeting and power dynamics at the local level allow for further manipulation of who receives benefits. Targeting must thus rather be perceived as a reflection of the wider power relations within the social protection sector in a country, and the specific communities in which the cash transfer is implemented. This politicisation of targeting is important to recognise due to the implications it may have on how successfully programmes are implemented on the ground and their sustainability.