A UNITED Nations criminal tribunal judge tricked a young woman into coming to the UK to be her slave, a court has heard. Lydia Mugambe, pictured above, is accused of taking advantage of her status over her alleged victim. Mugambe, who was studying for a law PhD at Oxford University, is said to have prevented the young Ugandan woman from holding down a job and forced her to work as her maid and to provide childcare for free.
![[Portrait of Lydia Mugambe, a Ugandan lawyer and former High Court judge.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/lydia-mugambe-ugandan-lawyer-served-972882627.png?strip=all&w=768)
Prosecutors allege Mugambe, who is also a High Court judge in Uganda, had the intention of “obtaining someone to make her life easier and at the least possible cost to herself”. She is also accused of attempting to intimidate her alleged victim into dropping the case. Oxford crown court heard she conspired with Ugandan deputy high commissioner John Leonard Mugerwa to arrange for the woman to come to Britain.
The pair are said to have participated in a “very dishonest” trade-off, in which Mr Mugerwa allegedly arranged for the Ugandan High Commission to sponsor the woman’s entrance into the UK. That was in exchange for Mugambe attempting to speak to a judge who was in charge of legal action Mr Mugerwa was named in, the court was told. The trial was also told Mugambe tried to claim she had diplomatic immunity but a check revealed she does not have it.
