Gift Konjana

Gift Konjana
Gift Konjana
Occupation	Politician
Political party	MDC Alliance

Gift Konjana is a Zimbabwean politician and a member of the MDC Alliance. He contested in the 2018 Harmonised Elections.

Konjana allegedly won the Chegutu West seat for Member of Parliament but Dexter Nduna of the ZANU-PF party was announced as the winner as a result of a clerical error made by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Konjana challenged the error made by ZEC to no avail when a High Court Judge dismissed his application based on a technicality. Nduna was sworn in for a five-year term as the MP for Chegutu West.^[1]

In October 2021, the Constitutional Court dismissed an appeal by Konjana, the MDC Alliance parliamentary candidate for Chegutu West in the 2018 elections, who was denied victory by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) due to a ballot counting error.^[2]

ZEC proceeded to wrongly pronounce ZANU PF’s Dexter Nduna as the winner, setting off a protracted court battle that would go through all relevant jurisdictions all the way to the top of the appeals process.

ZEC admitted its error but said it was powerless to reverse the outcome, which prompted Konjana to approach the Electoral Court.

However, in October 2018, Justice Mary Zimba-Dube dismissed Konjana's petition saying it was defective.

Justice Patel admitted though that the appeal had merit, but said the case could not be heard because the appeal timeframe stipulated under the Electoral Act had elapsed.

Konjana then approached the Constitutional Court, arguing that the Supreme Court had violated his rights by not hearing him out.

The case was heard by Justices Garwe, Anne Mary Gowora, and Ben Hlatswayo.

Nduna, through his lawyers, countered in the Constitutional Court that Konjana’s electoral challenge had been legitimately rejected by the lower courts.

Justice Paddington Garwe led the Constitutional Court bench.

Konjana then took up the matter with the Supreme Court but was again turned down by Justices Bharat Patel and Chinembiri Bhunu.

On 16 January 2023, Konjana, who was MDC-T Chairperson in Mashonaland West Province, and six other senior party members were suspended by MDC-T for indiscipline.^[3]

The other six are Elias Mudzuri, Norest Marara, John Nyika, Den Moyo, Edwin Dzambara and Edward Kakora.

Mudzuri was a former deputy president, Marara is the Secretary for Party Business and Projects, Nyika is MDC Chairperson in Masvingo Province, Moyo is MDC Chairperson USA Province, Dzambara is Secretary for Education and Kakora is a National Executive Member.