Legal Case Summary
R v Konzani [2005] EWCA Crim 706; [2005] 2 Cr. App. R. 14
Criminal – Consent –Defence of honest belief of consent
Facts
Feston Konzani was charged with three counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm contrary to s 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. Konzani was HIV positive and aware of his condition. He had unprotected sexual intercourse with three complainants without informing them of his condition. Consequently, the three complainants contracted HIV.
Issues
Whether there was a reasonable or genuine belief by Konzani that the complainants were aware of his HIV positive status and thus, consented to the risk of contracting HIV through unprotected sexual intercourse. Konzani relied on the defence of reasonable or genuine belief against s 20 of the Act. However, on appeal it was found that Konzani’s concealment of his HIV status was incongruent with honesty.
Decision / Outcome
There was no evidence to indicate or to which the jury could have inferred, that Konzani had the honest belief that the complainants had consented to unprotected sexual intercourse, knowing that they were exposing themselves specifically to the risk of contracting HIV. The case of R v Dica [2004] EWCA Crim 1103 was referred to and applied to some degree, as the principle of personal autonomy to ensure that the individual takes necessary precautions to mitigate their risks of infection was acknowledged. However, it was distinguished on the basis that where Konzani had knowingly concealed the fact that he had HIV from his sexual partners, his sexual partner’s personal autonomy could not reasonably be expected to extend to anticipate his deception. Therefore, his concealment of his condition consequently led to the transmission of HIV to the complainants. The complainants could not have given proper consent as they were not honestly informed. The defence of honest belief was not upheld under s 20 of the Act. The appeal was dismissed and the conviction stayed.
Updated 20 March 2026
This case summary remains broadly accurate as of 2025. R v Konzani [2005] EWCA Crim 706 is still good law, and the principles it established regarding consent and honest belief in the context of HIV transmission through unprotected sexual intercourse under s 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 have not been overruled.
One point of clarification worth noting: the summary refers to the conviction being ‘stayed’ at the end, which is not the correct legal term in this context — the appeal was dismissed and the conviction was upheld. This is a drafting inaccuracy rather than a legal development, but readers should be aware of it.
The legal landscape in this area has seen some policy developments since 2005. The Crown Prosecution Service has updated its guidance on the prosecution of offences involving the transmission of sexually transmitted infections, and there has been ongoing academic and policy debate about the criminalisation of HIV transmission. However, the core legal principles from Konzani — particularly that a defendant cannot rely on an honest belief in consent where that belief arises from deliberate concealment of HIV-positive status — remain the settled position in English and Welsh criminal law. R v Dica [2004] EWCA Crim 1103, referenced in the summary, also remains good law.
