ABSTRACT
The refrain, very often repeated in the print media since early 2007, is that the courts are the last hope of the common man. This refrain has been more frequent recently in discussions focused on the numerous appeals pending before the election tribunals across the country. However, it needs to be stressed that the trust in the courts as fair arbiters in electoral politics is only a recent phenomenon. Following the 1999 and 2003 elections, the courts did not emerge as the last hope of the petitioners. Indeed, in 2003, a significant number of judges were sacked for accepting bribes to pervert the cause of justice in their handling of election petitions.
