Lydia Mugambe, a Ugandan High Court judge and member of the United Nations judicial roster, has been sentenced to six years and four months in prison by a UK court after being convicted of forcing a young Ugandan woman into domestic servitude.
The 50-year-old was found guilty by Oxford Crown Court of several offences, including conspiracy to breach UK immigration laws, trafficking for exploitation, forced labour, and witness intimidation.
During the trial, the court was told that Mugambe brought the woman to the UK under false pretences and forced her to work as an unpaid maid and nanny, while denying her the right to seek legal employment.
Prosecutor Caroline Haughey KC said Mugambe took advantage of the victim’s limited understanding of her rights and misled her about the real reason for travelling to the UK.
The offences came to light in February 2023 when police were called to Mugambe’s home in Oxfordshire. Nevertheless, she was appointed to the UN judicial roster three months later, in May 2023.
Mugambe has been a judge of Uganda’s High Court since 2013 and previously served at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda as a legal officer and later as appeals counsel. She began her judicial career in Uganda in 2000 and is active in several international legal associations.
A published expert on human and children’s rights, Mugambe holds law degrees from Makerere University, the University of Pretoria, and Lund University. She was called to the Ugandan Bar in 1998 and is currently pursuing a PhD in law at the University of Oxford. She speaks fluent English and has working knowledge of French.
