Jock Kay

John Maurice Kay ( – before 2001), better known as Jock Kay, was a Zimbabwean farmer and politician. A member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe from 1983 to 1990, he served as the Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement from 1988 to 1990. He entered Parliament as an independent, before joining the ruling ZANU–PF party in 1987.

Biography Kay was born in Manicaland .

In 1948, he purchased 5,000 acres of virgin land in Wedza District, near Marandellas (now Marondera), Southern Rhodesia. He named it Chipesa Farm, and grew maize and tobacco. It supported hundreds of workers and their families. As a farmer, Kay was known as a pioneer of cooperative irrigation techniques. The previous member, Arthur Tapson, resigned to move to South Africa. In the election on 30 September, Kay earned 493 votes, defeating the right-wing Republican Front candidate François Smit with 434 votes. In September 1987, having achieved the support of 75% of the House of Assembly as required under the Lancaster House Agreement, the constitution was amended to abolish the white roll constituencies. A number of new members were co-opted onto the House of Assembly to replace the departing white members. Kay, along with several other white ZANU–PF members, were allowed to keep their seats.

On 22 January 1988, Kay was appointed Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement. He was one of two white deputy ministers, along with Charles Duke. His appointment as the deputy of Minister David Karimanzira, because he was a white farmer himself, was thought to help to assuage the concerns of the country's 4,500 white farmers. However, a United States State Department private communication at the time reported that his inexperience and "questionable" professional competence caused some farmers to be uncertain as to whether Kay would be able to protect the interests of white commercial farmers. As deputy minister, Kay focused on promoting irrigation and combating soil loss through erosion.

In the 1990 Zimbabwean general election, Kay did not run for reelection to parliament. Shortly after, he was dropped from the cabinet in a presidential announcement. Their son, Iain, is a farmer and politician who also served in the House of Assembly as a member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai party.

Kay died before 2001. He and his wife are buried on a koppie at their former home, Chipesa Farm, near Marondera, Zimbabwe. In March 2002, the Kay family abandoned the farm and moved elsewhere.

Electoral history 1983 parliamentary by-election

1985 parliamentary election