A UK court on Friday sentenced Lydia Mugambe, a United Nations judge, to six years and four months’ imprisonment after she was found guilty of forcing a young woman to work as her maid.
Ugandan judge Lydia Mugambe, 50, was sentenced under Britain’s Modern Slavery Act for taking “advantage of her status” over the victim while studying law at Oxford University.
The jury at Oxford Crown Court found Mugambe guilty of conspiring to violate UK immigration rules, enabling travel for exploitation, forcing someone to work, and conspiring to intimidate a witness.
The court was told that the accused, who is also a High Court judge in Uganda, forced the victim to serve as her maid and provide free childcare while preventing her from maintaining a permanent job.
In his ruling, Judge David Foxton emphasised the accused’s legal accomplishments, noting that it was a “very sad case.”
Mugambe committed “illegal folly” by arranging for the young woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, to travel to the UK.
She was also found guilty of using intimidation to induce the woman to abandon the case.
During the trial, the court was informed in a written statement that the victim recounted living in “almost constant fear” as a result of Mugambe’s influential position in their home nation.
