James Hamilton Iain Kay (born 1949) is a Zimbabwean farmer and politician who served in the House of Assembly from 2009 to 2013.
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.
The election was allegedly influenced by electoral fraud, as the total number of votes was said to have exceeded actual voter turnout.
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.
[1] Kay grew up speaking English and Shona and spending hours playing in the bush with Tuhna's children.
[5][6] 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.
[1] 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.
[8] 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.
[8][11] The war veterans bound his hands with barbed wire and whipped and beat him for a long time, using sticks, axe handles, and belts.
[8] 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.
[8] Neighbors reported that the attacks on the farm were because of Kay's support for the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party.
[7] The invaders chased away his 120 workers and caused Kay and his son David to lock themselves in the house to remain safe.
[8][13] Kay ran against ZANU–PF candidate Sydney Sekeramayi, the Minister of Defence, in Marondera East, a constituency with a history of electoral violence.
[8][13] 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.
[13] In early March 2005, the United Methodist church that Kay attended was burned to the ground to scare MDC supporters.
[2][13] 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.
[13] 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.
[14] Sekeramayi's victory was marred by suspected electoral fraud; the total number of votes in the district allegedly exceeded actual voter turnout.
[17] 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.
[18] 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.
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.
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.
[1] Kay attends a United Methodist church in Marondera, which he helped build and where his wife carries out work with AIDS orphans.