First Ugandan refugee family in Warrington sell shop after 50 years

Kantilal Kanani, better known as Ken, and his wife Manjula have successfully ran Padgate Lane Post Office and the joint convenience store since May 1997, with Ken working as the postmaster there for 27 years.

Manjula announced the sad news of her retirement from the shop, aged 80, earlier this year, with ken, 78, having just announced his retirement this month (October) as the pair made the difficult decision to sell the shop.

Rewinding back the clocks to when the family first arrived, taking refuge in Warrington, it was a cold snowy day on October 9, 1972.

Ken, Manjula and their two young daughters arrived in town with Ken’s siblings and their 95-year-old grandad.

Their arrival was featured in the local newspaper. The family had never seen snow before, and they were given blankets and toys by the Warrington community to help them.

The 78-year-old retired postmaster explained how his family had to flee their home country as it was “no longer safe for us to stay”. This was to escape dictator at the time Idi Amin and his brutal regime.

“I was last in Uganda two years – it’s a beautiful country. It was never that I didn’t like Uganda, but we had to flee as it was no longer safe for us to stay,” he said.

Ken and Majula’s daughter Nisha was just 21 days old when they had to escape Uganda.

When Ken first arrived in Warrington his first job was working as a bus driver and Manjula worked in a bakery. They then opened a corner shop on Haryngton Avenue, Bewsey, in 1984.

His first role in a Post Office followed in Dallam in 1997. Six months later Ken took over the Padgate Lane branch.

Both his eldest daughter Nisha and youngest Jyoti both have worked in the shop over the years.

Kantilal Kanani, his wife Manjula have successfully ran Padgate Lane Post Office since May 1997 with their family (Image: Supplied) Speaking on her parent’s journey to take refuge in Warrington, Nisha said: “Mum and Dad came over with no money in their pockets to quickly flee Idi Amin’s dictatorship.

“Many people settled in Leicestershire, but my parents chose Warrington and there was a lovely newspaper article about our family being welcomed including me, who was a babe in arms.”

She continued: “They’ve worked very hard. It shows what can be achieved with hard work.

“My Dad is 78 and my Mum is 80. They’ve decided that it is time to retire, and they have sold the business.

“We’re all staying in the Warrington area. We don’t want to move as the people of Warrington made us very welcome from the start, and I have grown up here, and we have got to know our customers so well. I will do some Post Office relief work.”

Reminiscing on his decades working as a postmaster, Ken said: “The best thing about being a postmaster is the community that we mix with. 

“We have had a laugh, a joke and a chat. I used to make up bags of sweets for the little kids coming in.

“People were shocked that we were retiring, but it was time to step down and we found new owners, who are experienced retailers, and our staff are continuing to work in the shop, so there will still be familiar faces.”

Addressing his looming retirement, he added: “I’m so used to working hard, that I don’t know what I will do.

“I will try to relax more. I will now have more time for holidays now that I don’t have a business to run.”

Post Office area manager, Victoria Allsop, also commented on the news of family selling up shop, saying: “Ken has always been a very positive postmaster, and he is sad to be leaving Padgate Lane Post Office, but the time is right for him now to sell the family business and to take retirement.

“I want to sincerely thank Ken and Manjula and their daughter Nisha for all that they have done for the people of Warrington since 1997.

“They are kind and they really care about their community and are very grateful to the town being so welcoming since they arrived in the UK.”