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The Herald, January 4, 1980
Lieutenant-COLONEL Ronald Reid-Daly could not sue other army officers for damages in the High Court because the court has no jurisdiction on matters which could be dealt with through established and accepted military channels, Mr Justice Waddington ruled yesterday.
Mr Justice Waddington upheld special pleas by the former commander of the army, Lieut-General John Hickman and six members or former members of the army that the Selous Scout’s chief could not sue them in High Court.
Mr Justice Waddington said if the court had no jurisdiction to entertain Colonel Reid-Daly’s action against the army officers, it was also not competent to hear his action against the Minister of defence because his liability was a vicarious one”.
Colonel Reid-Daly was claiming a total of $53 000 in damages from the army officers and the Minister for alleged unlawful conduct by the officers.
He said that between August 1978 and January this year the telephone in his office was tapped. Colonel Red-Daly said military and his personal documents were surreptitiously removed, from his and copied and that his movements and activities were kept under surveillance.
The army officers contended that Colonel Reid-Daly was totally precluded from seeking damages in the High Court because the procedure for redress was provided in the army discipline regulations.
In his judgment handed down yesterday, Mr justice Waddington said it was almost an inescapable conclusion that in providing special redress procedures in the discipline regulations the legislature must have intended army officers to be restricted to that procedure.
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The judge was right that the matter should have been handled by a Military Tribunal, which is a judicial body empowered to make legal decisions and to declare punishments in relation to breaches of military law.
Daly was a significant figure in the history of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), best known as the founder and first commanding officer of the notorious Selous Scouts during the Second Chimurenga.
The unit was known for its unconventional warfare tactics, which included the use of pseudo-gangs, infiltration, and gathering intelligence on freedom fighters.
The Selous Scouts were accused of operating “pseudo-rehabilitation” camps, where captured insurgents were subjected to harsh interrogation techniques, including physical and psychological abuse, to extract information.
Daly left Zimbabwe and settled in South Africa after independence. He died on June 18, 2020, at the age of 83.
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