James Hamilton Iain Kay (born 1949) is a Zimbabwean farmer and politician who served in the House of Assembly from 2009 to 2013. Previously, he was a commercial farmer near Marondera, Mashonaland East Province. He was also the subject of violent attacks by ZANU–PF war veterans during the land reform program after the 2000 parliamentary elections.
Kay was born on Chipesa Farm, his father's estate, in Marondellas, Southern Rhodesia. His father, Jock Kay, was a farmer and politician who served as Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Zimbabwe from 1988 to 1990. During the Rhodesian Bush War, Kay served in the Selous Scouts. After his father's death, Kay took over the management of Chipesa Farm, growing tobacco and maize and raising livestock. In April 2000, around 60 ZANU–PF supporters and Bush War veterans invaded the farm, staking claim to it and violently beating Kay because of his support for the Movement for Democratic Change. He managed to escape alive, but when a police officer came to arrest the occupiers, they shot and killed him, attracting the attention of international media and raising concerns that the land reform program could spark a greater conflict. After the attack, Kay and his family found refuge in Harare, returning to the farm several months later. In July 2001, veterans once again invaded the farm, holding Kay and three neighbors hostage. In March 2002, Kay abandoned Chipesa Farm for good after 53 years of family ownership.
In 2005, Kay ran as the Movement for Democratic Change candidate for the Marondera East constituency. In a campaign marked by confrontation by ZANU–PF partisans, Kay earned 35% of the vote, losing to Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, who earned 66%. The election was allegedly influenced by electoral fraud, as the total number of votes was said to have exceeded actual voter turnout. In 2008, Kay ran as the MDC–T candidate for the Marondera Central constituency. He won 66% of the vote against ZANU–PF candidate Peter Murwira, and was seated in the Zimbabwean House of Assembly in 2009. In March 2011, he was seen as a likely candidate to be nominated by his party for the post of Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, but this ultimately did not materialize. In 2013, Kay lost his seat in Parliament to Ray Kaukonde, the ZANU–PF provincial party chairperson for Mashonaland East. Later that year, the MDC–T gave Kay a five-year suspension from politics after he criticized party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and called for a change in party leadership. Following his removal from active politics, Kay was unemployed and struggling financially.
Early life and education
Kay was born in Marondellas (now Marondera), Southern Rhodesia. He was born and raised on Chipesa Farm, which his father purchased in 1948. His father was Jock Kay, a farmer and ZANU–PF politician who served as Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Zimbabwe from 1988 to 1990. His mother was Peggy Kay. Kay grew up on the farm, where his family's cook, Sydney Tuhna, was a father figure to him. Kay grew up speaking English and Shona and spending hours playing in the bush with Tuhna's children.
During the Rhodesian Bush War, Kay served in the Rhodesian Security Forces as a member of the Selous Scouts.
Farming career
After his father's death, Kay took over management of Chipesa Farm, a 5,000-acre estate developed from virgin land in 1948, located 50 miles east of Harare, the capital. On the farm, Kay grew maize and tobacco. The farm supported 500 workers and family members, and included a school, pub, women's center, and a healthcare worker. In 2000, the Kays built a new, thatched-roof house to replace the small cottage that had been there.
In addition to commercial farming, Kay engaged in projects intended to improve farming practices among Zimbabwe's rural population. In the 1990s, he began hosting monthly discussion groups in different communities, in which Kay would meet with local farmers to discuss dehorning, disease control, and dipping tank construction. A small fee was charged for attendance which was used to fund different projects. In addition, Kay set aside eight bulls from his herd and loaned one to individual villages for two-year periods to help them improve the gene pool of their stock. A similar program was created with goats. These programs were stopped when the ruling party ZANU–PF's disapproval became evident.