Nairobi — They came, they saw ... but whether they conquered anything remains open to debate.

Such was the feeling that filled the air at the end of the two-day South African Development Community (SADC) summit in Windhoek, Namibia, where regional leaders convened to review and address the region's critical challenges.

The writing was on the wall for Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba's reign at the helm of the regional bloc council as he took over from DRC's Joseph Kabila.

From the onset, it was daunted by the challenge of compelling Zimbabwe to implement the tribunal's order on land acquisition.

The Zimbabwe High Court ruled in January that it would not bow to an order of the SADC Tribunal barring the acquisition of land owned by 79 white farmers.

The white Zimbabwean farmers approached the tribunal in search of an interdict that would prevent the government, through its compulsory land acquisition programme, from laying its hands on their farms.

In 2008, the farmers won in Windhoek when the tribunal ruled in their favour, but their joy was short-lived after Zimbabwe went on record to say it would not bow to the tribunal's order.

The SADC Summit, the highest decision-making body that comprises all SADC Heads of State, was expected to take a stand on Zimbabwe's defiance to implement the tribunal's 2008 interim and final orders barring acquisitions of white-owned land in that country.

The summit decided that the role functions of the SADC tribunal be undertaken and concluded within six months, a move that could reverse some of the tribunal's rulings.

The tribunal, headquartered in Windhoek, is provided for under Article 16 of the 1992 Declaration and Treaty establishing the community.

Such a review is expected to introduce more direct and tangible guidelines in dealing with impasses and failure to implement the tribunal's rulings, among other things.

The summit called on the international community to lift all sanctions imposed on the country

Deliberations on politics, security and defence, however, dominated the summit's proceedings, with executive secretary Tomaz Salomao having cautioned before the start of the summit that Lesotho, Eastern DRC, Madacascar and Zimbabwe were the region's hotspots.

While commending the stakeholders in Lesotho for their commitment to post-electoral dialogue, the summit urged them to cooperate on the finalisation of the Bill Amending the Electoral Law.

On Madagascar, the summit opted to rally on the African Union and the international community for political, technical and material support to the process of Malgacho-Malgache dialogue.

Despite such support, SADC will continue its sanctions on the Indian Ocean island.

All does not appear to be lost, however, as the bloc showed it still held a firm grip on the region.

Now the SADC will be shifting its attention to the next summit to be held in Luanda, Angola. Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos will take over from chair-elect Pohamba as the next's council chairperson.