Lydia Mugambe a United Nations judge has again appeared before a court in UK on accusations that she tricked an African woman into coming to Britain to work as her unpaid slave while she studied a law PhD at Oxford University.
According reports, Ugandan High Court judge Lydia Mugambe conspired with deputy High Commissioner John Leonard Mugerwa to bring the woman to the UK to look after her children for free, prosecutors said.
She then withheld her passport and if the woman ever needed her identity documents she would have to ‘beg for them,’ Caroline Haughey KC said.
When police first arrested Mugambe she wrongly claimed she had diplomatic immunity
Mugambe is also accused of trying to intimidate her victim into dropping the case by trying to arrange for the woman’s pastor to intervene.
If found guilty, Mugambe will face a 10 year ban without stepping in UK, or even years in a UK prison and fines.
It should be noted that Lydia Mugambe is a Ugandan lawyer who held the position of judge at the High Court of Uganda from May 2013 until September 2020. She was appointed to this role by President Yoweri Museveni on May 3, 2013. Later, on September 18, 2020, she was appointed as the Inspector General of Government by the same president, Museveni.
Her legal issues commenced on August 7, 2024, when Thames Valley Police charged her in relation to an ongoing investigation into modern slavery.
In February 2025, her trial started at Oxford Crown Court. During the proceedings, it emerged that Mugambe had informed the police that she possessed “diplomatic immunity” and could not be apprehended due to her status as a judge in Uganda and her involvement with the UN.
However, the diplomatic team of the Metropolitan Police later confirmed that she did not have diplomatic immunity in the United Kingdom.
