{{Short description|Zimbabwean farmer and politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | party = MDC <small>(before 2005)</small><br />MDC–T <small>(after 2005)</small> | 1blankname = Iain Kay | office1 = Member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for Marondera Central | predecessor1 = ''Constituency established'' | successor1 = Ray Kaukonde | term_end1 = 2013 | term_start1 = 2009 | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1949}} | birth_place = Marandellas, Southern Rhodesia | parents = Jock Kay<br />Peggy Kay | occupation = Farmer; politician | allegiance = Rhodesia | branch = Rhodesian Army | unit = Selous Scouts | battles = Rhodesian Bush War | children = 5 ({{abbr|incl.|including}} 2 adopted) | spouse = Kerry Kay }}
'''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 {{circa|1949}} in Marondellas (now Marondera), Southern Rhodesia.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/apr2_2002.html|title=The Zimbabwe Situation|last=kdc|website=zimbabwesituation.com|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref> He was born and raised on Chipesa Farm, which his father purchased in 1948.<ref name=":0" /> His father was Jock Kay, a farmer and ZANU–PF politician who served as Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Zimbabwe from 1988 to 1990.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/zimbabwe/zimbabwe-intimidation-countryside-escalates|title=Zimbabwe: Intimidation in countryside escalates|date=18 March 2005|work=ReliefWeb|access-date=13 December 2017}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thezimbabwean.co/2008/08/graves-desecrated/|title=Graves Desecrated|date=6 August 2008|website=The Zimbabwean|access-date=14 December 2017}}</ref> His mother was Peggy Kay.<ref name=":2" /> Kay grew up on the farm, where his family's cook, Sydney Tuhna, was a father figure to him.<ref name=":0" /> Kay grew up speaking English and Shona and spending hours playing in the bush with Tuhna's children.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2015/10/04/being-a-white-politician-in-zim/|title=Being a white politician in Zim|last=Chidza|first=Richard|date=4 October 2015|work=The Standard|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref>
During the Rhodesian Bush War, Kay served in the Rhodesian Security Forces as a member of the Selous Scouts.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thezimbabwean.co/2012/08/cio-propaganda-docu-taints-kay/|title=CIO propaganda docu taints Kay|last=Kay|first=Iain|date=22 August 2012|work=The Zimbabwean|access-date=13 December 2017}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thepatriot.co.zw/old_posts/haunted-by-iain-kays-atrocities/|title=Haunted by Iain Kay's atrocities|last=Mwale|first=Emergency|date=31 July 2014|website=The Patriot|access-date=13 December 2017}}</ref>
== 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.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/soc.culture.zimbabwe/PHc0IRXer0M|title=Zimbabwe veterans corner, threaten white farmers|date=7 July 2001|agency=Reuters}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/1485785/Ex-farmer-takes-on-Mugabe-minister.html|title=Ex-farmer takes on Mugabe minister|last=Thornycroft|first=Peta|date=16 March 2005|work=The Telegraph|access-date=11 December 2017|issn=0307-1235}}</ref> On the farm, Kay grew maize and tobacco.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-05-mn-16197-story.html|title=Zimbabwe Policeman Killed on White Farm|date=5 April 2000|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=12 December 2017|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> The farm supported 500 workers and family members, and included a school, pub, women's center, and a healthcare worker.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/correspondent/2758313.stm|title=Forced to flee|date=14 February 2003|work=BBC News|access-date=14 December 2017}}</ref> In 2000, the Kays built a new, thatched-roof house to replace the small cottage that had been there.<ref name=":0" />
In addition to commercial farming, Kay engaged in projects intended to improve farming practices among Zimbabwe's rural population.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> A small fee was charged for attendance which was used to fund different projects.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> A similar program was created with goats.<ref name=":0" /> These programs were stopped when the ruling party ZANU–PF's disapproval became evident.<ref name=":0" />
=== 2000–01 farm invasions and aftermath === On 3 April 2000, around 60 ZANU–PF supporters and black Bush War veterans invaded Kay's farm.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GrpyAAAAMAAJ|title=Farm Invasions in Zimbabwe: What Lessons for Democracy in Africa?|last=Zunga|first=Luke|date=2003|publisher=Truth House Pub.|isbn=9780620305723|pages=89|language=en}}</ref> His property, Chipesa Farm, was among the first to be occupied during the Zimbabwean land reform period following the violent 2000 election.<ref name=":6" /> At the start of the invasion, Kay was inside the property's primary school where the farm workers' children attend, where he was taking measurements for an additional classroom.<ref name=":0" />
The assailants found him and dragged him outside.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":9" /> The war veterans bound his hands with barbed wire and whipped and beat him for a long time, using sticks, axe handles, and belts.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":9" /> When his captors were distracted by an arriving vehicle, Kay managed to escape and dove into a nearby reservoir.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":9" /> None of his attackers could swim, but they aimed rocks at him through the water.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":9" /> The attack on Chipesa Farm was reported to local police, who sent a young officer to investigate.<ref name=":6" /> After he tried to arrest one of the attackers, the officer, 25-year-old Constable Finashe Chikwenaya, was shot dead by the ZANU–PF occupiers.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChMzBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120|title=Robert Mugabe and the Betrayal of Zimbabwe|last=Norman|first=Andrew|date=13 March 2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476616704|language=en}}</ref> The murder came after three of the occupiers had already been arrested.<ref name=":7" /> After the officer was killed, Kay was able to escape the farm with the arrival of his son, David.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" />
After the attack, the invaders continued to occupy Chipesa Farm. Kay and his family sought refuge in Harare, and the farm's 120 employees and their 380 dependents were forced away from the farm.<ref name=":6" /> The murder of the police constable attracted the attention of the international media, and raised concerns that the farm invasions could spark a larger conflict.<ref name=":7" /> After being rescued, Kay spent several days in the Marondera hospital recovering from the beating.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> After fleeing to Harare, the Kay family spent a few months in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.<ref name=":5" /> While they were away, neighbors prepared the land and planted tobacco seeds for the next harvest.<ref name=":0" /> When the veterans tried to stop them, Kay's farmworkers drove them away.<ref name=":0" /> After five months, the Kays returned to Zimbabwe, finding their farm abandoned and vandalized.<ref name=":6" /> Kay resumed farming, but continued to be harassed by the war veterans.<ref name=":6" /> Neighbors reported that the attacks on the farm were because of Kay's support for the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />
On 5 July 2001, 60 war veterans once again occupied Chipesa Farm.<ref name=":5" /> The invaders chased away his 120 workers and caused Kay and his son David to lock themselves in the house to remain safe.<ref name=":5" /> Chipesa Farm was one of hundreds that were occupied as President Robert Mugabe encouraged war veterans to seize white-owned farms by force.<ref name=":5" /> Later that day, two neighboring farmers who had come to help, Kim Nilson and Trevor Steel, also took refuge in the farmhouse.<ref name=":5" /> The veterans eventually broke down the doors and began holding the four farmers hostage in the house, threatening to kill them.<ref name=":5" /> Police arrived at the scene to deal with the situation.<ref name=":5" /> The attack was partially related to Kay's support of opposition political parties and his opposition to ZANU–PF.<ref name=":5" /> Three of Kay's workers were beaten badly and taken to the hospital by police.<ref name=":5" />
In August 2001, Kay's son came across a rudimentary roadblock of boulders placed on the farm's driveway.<ref name=":6" /> One of the rocks had been booby trapped with a primed grenade.<ref name=":6" /> Several months later, Kay's adopted son John Rutherford, 34, was attacked on a nearby farm and beaten nearly to death.<ref name=":6" /> The ZANU–PF assailants responsible for the attack murdered Rutherford's 29-year-old security guard, Darlington Vhekaveka.<ref name=":6" /> In March 2002, the Kay family abandoned Chipesa Farm for good after 53 years, and moved into rented accommodations.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" />
== Political career == === 2005 parliamentary election === Kay ran as the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate in the 2005 Zimbabwean parliamentary election.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0316/p01s04-woaf.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192850/http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0316/p01s04-woaf.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2016|title=Wisps of democracy in Zimbabwe|last=McLaughlin|first=Abraham|date=16 March 2005|work=The Christian Science Monitor}}</ref> Kay ran against ZANU–PF candidate Sydney Sekeramayi, the Minister of Defence, in Marondera East, a constituency with a history of electoral violence.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":10" /> In the previous 2000 election, the MDC candidate was forced to leave town, his home was torched, and his supporters were allegedly tortured at ZANU–PF headquarters.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":10" /> By 2005, the situation had settled down enough that Kay and the MDC were able to actively campaign.<ref name=":10" /> Marondera East is an important district, and one that traditionally votes for ZANU–PF.<ref name=":10" /> Kay said he ran for Parliament because "it is the right thing to do."<ref name=":6" /> Although he was told by some that we was "courting trouble" by running, he says others came to him and asked him to stand for election.<ref name=":6" />
Although there was more openness than the previous election, Kay's opposition campaign still met resistance from ZANU–PF partisans.<ref name=":10" /> In early March 2005, the United Methodist church that Kay attended was burned to the ground to scare MDC supporters.<ref name=":10" /> Though convinced he had more support than Sekeramayi, he worried that memories of the violence of the 2000 election could harm his prospects.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":10" /> In addition, he was concerned that the increased number of voting stations (90, up from 50 the last election) could be a ploy used by ruling officials to better locate opposition enclaves and target them with retaliation.<ref name=":10" /> Ahead of his major campaign rally, Kay had to hold three meetings in caves, to avoid being arrested for breaking the Public Order and Security Act, which restricted freedom of assembly and was used by police to prevent political opposition meetings.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":10" /> And the hundreds of posters put up by his campaign team in the days leading up to the rally were ripped down by ZANU–PF youths.<ref name=":10" /> He convinced friends to lend him trucks for the rally, although they feared harassment by party members.<ref name=":10" />
Kay's first major campaign rally was held in Marondera on 16 March, two weeks before election day.<ref name=":10" /> MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was present,<ref name=":1" /> and 600 supporters attended, listening to speeches and chanting "Chinja, chinja!" (Change!).<ref name=":10" /> Party members were surprised at the large turnout, as turnout of the last MDC rally in 2000 was zero, due to the fear of ZANU–PF violence.<ref name=":10" /> Kay, standing next to his wife and sons, spoke to the crowd and chanted along with them.<ref name=":10" /> About 50 yards away, 700 people Kay described as "swing voters" stood, quietly watching.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":10" /> Kay held his rally in a public area so that these swing voters could view the rally.<ref name=":10" /> If he had held it in the local stadium, many of these people would not have dared enter to view the rally and associate themselves publicly with the MDC.<ref name=":10" /> After the rally, Kay remained at the site to make sure supporters who had been trucked in got home safely and without incident.<ref name=":10" />
While Kay's ability to publicly campaign was an improvement for the MDC since 2000, his chances of victory were still dampened by a lingering fear of ZANU–PF.<ref name=":6" /> Sekeramayi was a formidable opponent, and ZANU–PF engaged in an extensive door-to-door campaign.<ref name=":6" /> On election day, 31 March 2005, Kay, with 10,066 votes, lost to Sekeramayi, with 19,912 votes.<ref name=":11">Blair, David, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/07/wzim07.xml "Mugabe 'conjures up' winning votes"]{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''The Daily Telegraph'' (United Kingdom), 8 April 2005.</ref> Sekeramayi's victory was marred by suspected electoral fraud; the total number of votes in the district allegedly exceeded actual voter turnout.<ref name=":11" />
=== 2008 election and Member of Parliament === In the 2008 parliamentary election, Kay ran as the MDC–T candidate for the newly created Marondera Central constituency. He won with 66% of the vote against ZANU–PF candidate Peter Murwira. During the campaign, Kay was the victim of political violence, involving property destruction that he was not compensated for.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2017/10/29/im-broke-says-ex-mp/|title=I'm broke, says ex-MP|last=Saunyama|first=Jairos|date=29 October 2017|work=The Standard|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> On 20 May 2008, two months after the election, Kay was arrested, along with several other opposition politicians, for allegedly inciting public violence.<ref>[http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=nw20080521112812505C553756 "Zim opposition lawmakers arrested"], Sapa-AFP (''IOL''), 21 May 2008.</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite news|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200807110372.html|title=Zimbabwe: Ian Kay Applies for Discharge|date=11 July 2008|work=The Herald|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref> He applied for a discharge in early June before a Marondera magistrate.<ref name=":13" />
In March 2011, Kay was put forward by his party as the likely nominee for the post of Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web|url=http://www.herald.co.zw/ian-kay-replaces-bennett/|title=Ian Kay replaces Bennett|last=Machivenyika|first=Farirai|date=19 April 2011|website=The Herald|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> Roy Bennett, the previous presumptive nominee, was taken out of consideration due to his self-imposed exile in South Africa and his impending expulsion from the Senate.<ref name=":14" /> Kay was then chosen as the best candidate because of his past experience in agriculture as a commercial farmer.<ref name=":14" /> Ultimately, Kay never took office as deputy minister.
=== 2013 election and suspension from party === In the 2013 election, Kay, the MDC–T incumbent, ran against ZANU–PF candidate Ray Kaukonde, the party's provincial chairperson for Mashonaland East Province.<ref name=":12" /> In the year prior to the election, Kay was subjected to accusations spread by ZANU–PF campaigners who alleged that Kay committed atrocities while a member of the Selous Scouts during the Rhodesian Bush War.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> Local ZANU–PF officials filmed a dramatized propaganda documentary, which was broadcast on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.<ref name=":3" /> Ultimately, Kay lost to Kaukonde by a margin of 52% of the vote to Kay's 44%.
In 2013, Kay was punished with a five-year suspension from the MDC–T after he called for leadership change and described party leader Morgan Tsvangirai as a rusty bolt in need of replacement.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":15">{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2013/11/15/mdc-slaps-ian-kay-with-5-year-suspension|title=MDC slaps Ian Kay with 5-year suspension|last=Mugove|first=Tafirenyika|date=15 November 2013|work=DailyNews Live|access-date=13 December 2017|archive-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215053610/https://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2013/11/15/mdc-slaps-ian-kay-with-5-year-suspension|url-status=dead}}</ref> Following a hearing, Kay was given the suspension by the party's provincial chair for Mashonaland East.<ref name=":15" /> Following his removal from active politics, Kay faced financial struggles and unemployment.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":15" />
== Personal life == Kay and his wife Kerry have three adult sons, David, Bruce, and Clive.<ref name=":0" /> They have an adopted adult son, John Rutherford,<ref name=":6" /> and an adopted daughter, Lindsay, whose parents died in a plane crash in 2000.<ref name=":0" />
Kay attends a United Methodist church in Marondera, which he helped build and where his wife carries out work with AIDS orphans.<ref name=":1" /> The church was burned in 2005 during Kay's parliamentary campaign as an act of intimidation.<ref name=":1" />
Kay's wife, Kerry, is the national AIDS coordinator for the Commercial Farmers' Union.<ref name=":0" />
== Electoral history == '''2005 Zimbabwean parliamentary election, Marondera East constituency''' * '''Sydney Sekeramayi''' (ZANU–PF) – 19,912 (66.42%) * Iain Kay (MDC) – 10,066 (33.58%) '''2008 Zimbabwean parliamentary election, Marondera Central constituency''' * '''Iain Kay''' (MDC–T) – 8,022 (66.28%) * Peter Murwira (ZANU–PF) – 3,170 (26.19%) * Others (Ind) – 844 (7.53%) '''2013 Zimbabwean parliamentary election, Marondera Central constituency''' * '''Ray Kaukonde''' (ZANU–PF) – 9,308 (52.43%) * Iain Kay (MDC–T) – 7,892 (44.45%) * Mandaza Kudzanai (MDC–M) – 314 (1.77%) * Carlos Mudzongo (Ind) – 112 (0.64%)
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuODXsHVMdM Associated Press footage of Kay] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcpUn41Dvhw 2001 Associated Press footage of Kay]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Iain}} Category:1949 births Category:20th-century Methodists Category:20th-century Zimbabwean people Category:21st-century Methodists Category:Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Category:Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai politicians Category:People from Marondera Category:Rhodesian farmers Category:Rhodesian military personnel of the Bush War Category:Rhodesian people of British descent Category:White Rhodesian people Category:White Zimbabwean politicians Category:Zimbabwean democracy activists Category:Zimbabwean farmers Category:Zimbabwean people of British descent Category:Zimbabwean torture victims Category:Zimbabwean United Methodists Category:Living people