A United Nations judge has been found guilty of turning a young woman into her slave in the United Kingdom.
49-year-old Lydia Mugambe, who is also a high court judge in Uganda, was convicted of conspiring to facilitate a breach of UK immigration law, facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, forcing someone to work, and conspiracy to intimidate a witness.
Mugambe, who was studying for a law PhD at the University of Oxford, had denied the charges.
But the prosecutors alleged that she had exploited and abused the young woman, taking advantage of her lack of understanding of her rights to properly paid employment.
According to evidence presented in court, Mugambe had conspired with John Leonard Mugerwa, Ugandan deputy high commissioner, to arrange for the young woman to come to the UK.
The pair was said to have participated in a “very dishonest” trade-off, in which Mugerwa arranged for the Ugandan High Commission to sponsor the woman’s entry into the UK.
In exchange, Mugambe would attempt to speak to a judge who was in charge of legal action Mugerwa was named in.
The young woman told the court that she felt “lonely” and “stuck” after her working hours were limited.
Mugambe was found guilty of conspiring to intimidate the woman to withdraw her support for the prosecution and to have the charges against her dropped.
Jurors heard that she had the intention of “obtaining someone to make her life easier and at the least possible cost to herself”.
She claimed she had treated the young woman with love, care, and patience, but the jury rejected her defence.
After her arrest, Mugambe claimed she had diplomatic immunity due to her status as a UN judge.
However, the Thames Valley police in Oxfordshire said any immunity Mugambe may have enjoyed had been waived by the office of the United Nations secretary general.
Mugambe will be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on May 2.
As a UN judge, Mugambe was appointed to the body’s judicial roster in May 2023, three months after police was called to her address in Oxfordshire.(The Cable)
