UN judge Lydia Mugambe jailed in UK for forcing woman to work as slave
(Photo credit: Thames Valley Police)
A United Nations judge has been sentenced to six years and four months in prison for forcing a woman to work as a domestic slave in the UK.
Lydia Mugambe, 50, who was pursuing a PhD in law at the University of Oxford, was found to have kept a young Ugandan woman as an unpaid domestic worker and nanny at her residence.
Mugambe was convicted in March of several charges, including conspiring to breach UK immigration law, facilitating travel for exploitation, forcing labor, and intimidating a witness.
Mugambe, who serves as a high court judge in Uganda, prevented the woman from securing regular employment and required her to serve as a domestic worker and provide childcare services, according to prosecutors.
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During sentencing, Judge David Foxton noted the defendant's complete lack of remorse and her attempts to shift responsibility onto the victim.
Mugambe obtained a fraudulent visa for the woman, which specified employment as a private servant at the diplomatic residence of John Mugerwa, Uganda's former deputy high commissioner in London.
Prosecutors indicated that Mugerwa supported the victim's visa application, knowing she would work in servitude for Mugambe. In exchange, Mugambe offered assistance with his legal proceedings in Uganda.
The court learned that Mugambe arranged the victim's travel and airport collection, after which the young woman became enslaved at the judge's Kidlington, Oxfordshire residence.
In court, prosecutor Caroline Haughey KC read the victim's statement, describing her "almost constant fear" due to Mugambe's influential position in Uganda.
The unnamed victim expressed inability to return to Uganda, fearing consequences and possible permanent separation from her mother.
Haughey stated that Mugambe took advantage of her victim's unfamiliarity with employment rights and misrepresented the purpose of her UK visit.
The court highlighted a "clear and significant imbalance of power" in the relationship between Mugambe and her victim.
The Crown Prosecution Service authorised charges against Mugambe's associate, Mr. Mugerwa, for conspiracy, but he had diplomatic immunity, which the Ugandan government did not waive.
Mugambe, however, denied the accusations, insisting she "always" treated the young Ugandan woman with "love, care and patience."
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