An Oxford Crown Court found Judge Lydia Mugambe from Uganda guilty of modern slavery. She brought a housemaid to England but never paid her for any work. The court will decide her punishment on May 2, and she might go to jail for life. Mugambe studied law at Oxford University, and many people thought she was one of the best judges in Uganda.
She misused her power as a judge to help the young woman travel to England. She wrote down that Uganda's High Commissioner John Leonard Mugerwa would be the woman's boss at work. This broke British immigration rules. Mugambe promised to help Mugerwa with a court case back home if he played along. The Uganda government protected Mugerwa from facing charges in Britain.
After thinking about the case for two days, the jury decided Mugambe was guilty. The 49-year-old judge tried to claim she could not be charged because she worked as both a Ugandan and a United Nations judge. But the UN office said she must face British laws about modern slavery. Mugambe told the young woman she would earn money as a housemaid and could look for other jobs if she wanted.
When they arrived in England, Mugambe took away the woman's ID papers and never paid her for taking care of the children. This left the woman stuck with nowhere to go. Police Chief Ben Clark said Mugambe knew exactly what she did wrong. He pointed out that as a highly trained lawyer and judge who even worked for the UN, she clearly understood she broke the law by tricking the victim and making her work without pay.
She misused her power as a judge to help the young woman travel to England. She wrote down that Uganda's High Commissioner John Leonard Mugerwa would be the woman's boss at work. This broke British immigration rules. Mugambe promised to help Mugerwa with a court case back home if he played along. The Uganda government protected Mugerwa from facing charges in Britain.
After thinking about the case for two days, the jury decided Mugambe was guilty. The 49-year-old judge tried to claim she could not be charged because she worked as both a Ugandan and a United Nations judge. But the UN office said she must face British laws about modern slavery. Mugambe told the young woman she would earn money as a housemaid and could look for other jobs if she wanted.
When they arrived in England, Mugambe took away the woman's ID papers and never paid her for taking care of the children. This left the woman stuck with nowhere to go. Police Chief Ben Clark said Mugambe knew exactly what she did wrong. He pointed out that as a highly trained lawyer and judge who even worked for the UN, she clearly understood she broke the law by tricking the victim and making her work without pay.
