AN asylum-seeker with HIV who was jailed for infecting three of his lovers with the virus has failed to have his conviction overturned.

The decision to reject Feston Konzani's appeal was last night welcomed by the officer whose investigation put the musician behind bars.

Konzani, 28, was jailed for ten years at Teesside Crown Court last May after he was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a 15-year-old girl and women aged 26 and 27.

All the offences were committed in the Middlesbrough area between November 2000 and August 2003 after Konzani arrived in the UK from Africa.

Konzani's QC, Tim Roberts, told a Court of Appeal hearing last month that the convictions were unsafe because of legal errors made by the trial judge.

But yesterday, Lord Justice Judge, Mr Justice Grigson and Judge Radford, said the truth was that Konzani had deceived his victims.

Konzani, who was not in court, will be deported to Malawi after his sentence.

The judges also dismissed his appeal against the length of his sentence, even though one of the victims supported a reduction.

It was argued during the appeal that his convictions were unsafe because the legal directions given by the trial judge on the issue of consent - whether the women consented to a risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease - were unduly restrictive.

The appeal judges heard that Konzani's defence at trial was that the complainants consented to the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease because they were aware how rife HIV was in Africa.

But Lord Justice Judge, giving the ruling of the appeal court, said: "There is not the slightest evidence, direct or indirect, from which a jury could begin to infer that the appellant honestly believed that any complainant consented to that specific risk."

Detective Inspector Ted Allen said last night: "The decision of the Court of Appeal is an important and welcome one - not just for the women who fell victim to Konzani.

"It sends out a strong message to others suffering from this deadly virus that they must bear responsibility for their actions.

"Konzani was a man who knew he was ill and callously took no steps in his close relationships with a number of women to inform them of his illness or prevent the spread of HIV.

"The appeal court decision upholds all the good work done in what was a detailed and complex police inquiry, and emphasises that those who set out to deceive in such cases are fully responsible for the devastating consequences."

Konzani came to Britain in 1998 and ended up living in Albany Street, Middlesbrough, and was diagnosed with HIV in November 2000.

A witness at the trial said that when he was diagnosed with the virus, Konzani spoke of "eradicating women".