FORMER MDC legislator for Silobela Anadi Sululu has written to the Roman Catholic Pope, Leo XIV, seeking his intervention regarding the forced Constitutional Amendments Number 3 Bill.
Sululu is also the leader of a pressure group called E-Movement.
In a letter dated February 27, directed to Pope Leo XIV through the Apostolic Nunciature in Zimbabwe, Sululu noted an urgent moral appeal regarding the constitutional crisis in Zimbabwe.
“I write to you on behalf of the E-Movement and the concerned citizens of Zimbabwe, seeking your paternal support and moral guidance during this hour of national distress,” Sululu wrote.
“Our country is currently navigating a profound crisis—a ‘perfect storm’ of severe social, economic and political challenges that threaten the dignity and peace of our people.
“The crisis of governance and law: While our citizens struggle with the basic necessities of life, the current administration has introduced the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 3 Bill (H.B. 1, 2026).”
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Sululu said this legislation seeks to amend the sacred Constitution to extend the presidential term to 2030, directly defying the democratic will expressed in the 2013 national referendum.
He said as a movement advocating democratic rights and the rule of law, they have appealed to the government to respect the constitutional covenant.
“However, these pleas have been met with further repression. Our humble request, we believe your voice, as a global moral authority, can reach the hearts of our leaders where politics has failed,” Sululu said.
“We humbly request that you engage President Emmerson Mnangagwa to urge the immediate cessation of the parliamentary gazetting and consultations regarding this amendment and advocate for the common good, reminding our leadership that national resources must be used to alleviate the suffering of the poor rather than to serve the interests of a political elite.”
He said they believe that Mnangagwa’s intervention will offer hope to millions of weary and suffering Zimbabweans.
“We trust in your commitment to justice and the protection of the vulnerable.”
Sululu also wrote to Reverend Janusz Urbanczyk, Apostolic Nuncio to Zimbabwe, seeking him to transmit the urgent petition to the Pope.
“We find ourselves in a moment of grave national concern. The introduction of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 3 Bill (H.B. 1, 2026) seeks to alter the fundamental democratic structure of our nation by extending presidential term limits against the popular will,”
Sululu wrote.
“We turn to the Holy Father, not as a political entity, but as a community of people seeking a moral arbiter to remind our leaders of their duty to the ‘common good’ and the sanctity of our laws.”
He requested Urbanczyk to transmit the letter to the Pope via the Secretariat of State in Vatican City.
He also asked the Pope to grant him brief audience, to further discuss the humanitarian implications of this constitutional crisis.
“We thank the Apostolic Nunciature for its continued role as a witness to the struggles and hopes of the Zimbabwean people.
“Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
Sululu also wrote to Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) president Paul Horan requesting urgent solidarity against the constitutional erosion.
He said the Bill seeks to bypass the democratic will and ignores the cry of the poor, who are already suffering under the weight of economic collapse.
The Pope and his representative in Zimbabwe are yet to respond to the letters.
Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations, the umbrella body for almost all churches in the country, has also condemned the proposed Constitutional Amendments and called on all Christians to prayerfully and non-violently take action to resist them.
In a statement, the church leaders said the Amendments are “broadly inconsistent with the foundational values underpinning the people driven 2013 Constitution, the inherent dignity of citizens and the demand of justice”.
The former legislator recently wrote to the African Union chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, indicating that his action was meant to safeguard constitutionalism and democratic governance in Zimbabwe.
Parliament gazetted the Bill last month, ahead oa ascent by the President.