A Ugandan and United Nations judge who brought a young woman from Africa to work as her domestic staff, has been accused of modern day slavery and convicted.
Lydia Mugambe, 49, who is also a High Court judge in Uganda, was convicted in Britain on Thursday, March 13, of forcing a young woman she brought from Uganda to work as a slave while she studied for a PhD at Oxford University.
She was found guilty of conspiring to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law, facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, forcing someone to work, and conspiracy to intimidate a witness, after a trial at Oxford Crown Court.
Mugambe was found to have taken “advantage of her status” over her victim by preventing her from holding down steady employment and forcing her to work as her maid and to provide free childcare.
Lydia Mugambe, a UN criminal tribunal judge and Oxford University law PHD student, has been accused of using her judicial status to facilitate the travel of a young Ugandan girl to Oxford to be her unpaid housemaid.
It is alleged that the 49-year-old had produced a fake employment contact for the girl’s work visa stating she would be a domestic servant for John Leonard Mugerwa, who at the time was the Ugandan high commissioner.
"Ms Mugambe used her knowledge and power to deceive (the woman) into coming to the UK, taking advantage of her naivety to deceive and induce her into working for her for nothing," prosecutor Caroline Haughey told jurors at Oxford Crown Court.
Mugambe was charged under the UK's modern slavery act with conspiring with John Leonard Mugerwa, who was then Uganda's deputy high commissioner, to facilitate the commission of a breach of immigration law.
"Ms Mugambe used her knowledge and power to deceive (the woman) into coming to the UK, taking advantage of her naivety to deceive and induce her into working for her for nothing," prosecutor Caroline Haughey told jurors at Oxford Crown Court.
Mugambe was charged under the UK's modern slavery act with conspiring with John Leonard Mugerwa, who was then Uganda's deputy high commissioner, to facilitate the commission of a breach of immigration law.
Prosecutors said Mugambe and Mugerwa, who was not on trial, provided false information that the woman would work at the High Commission in order to bring her into the country.
Prosecutors said Mugambe arranged for a contact in the Ugandan High Commission in London to get the woman a visa, under the guise that she would be working in the household and office of the diplomat. Once she arrived in Britain, she was taken to Mugambe's home and made to work as an unpaid nanny. Her passport and visa document were taken away from her.
The victim eventually sought help from a friend, which led to police becoming involved.
Mugambe was also charged with facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, forcing someone to work and conspiracy to intimidate a witness, to which she pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors said Mugambe arranged for a contact in the Ugandan High Commission in London to get the woman a visa, under the guise that she would be working in the household and office of the diplomat. Once she arrived in Britain, she was taken to Mugambe's home and made to work as an unpaid nanny. Her passport and visa document were taken away from her.
The victim eventually sought help from a friend, which led to police becoming involved.
Mugambe was also charged with facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, forcing someone to work and conspiracy to intimidate a witness, to which she pleaded not guilty.
Mugambe, who told the court she had never exploited the woman, was convicted of all four counts on Thursday
A video of Mugambe's arrest has now been made public.
During her arrest at her home, she told police “I even have immunity”.
She will be sentenced at the same court on May 2.
Lydia Mugambe was appointed in 2023 to be a judge of the U.N. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, which performs functions of previous tribunals relating to war crimes committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
Prosecutors said Mugambe, 49, used her status in the "most egregious way" by tricking a young Ugandan woman to come to Britain in 2022 to work as a maid without payment.
