Lydia Mugambe, a judge of the Ugandan High Court, is on trial in the UK for allegedly recruiting a lady from Africa under false pretences and making her work unpaid while she was a PhD candidate at Oxford University.
Claiming the victim would work as a domestic servant in the High Commission, Mugambe plotted with Uganda's former deputy High Commissioner, John Leonard Mugerwa, to obtain a UK visa for the victim, according to Oxford Crown Court prosecutors.
But when the mother arrived in Britain on July 9, 2022, she was instead brought to Mugambe's house in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and compelled to look after her children unpaid. Mugambe withheld the victim's passport, according to prosecutor Caroline Haughey KC, therefore forcing her to "beg" for access to her own paperwork.
The 49-year-old judge allegedly sought diplomatic protection when officials apprehended her. She is also accused of engaging the woman's pastor to try to scare the victim into withdrawing her complaint. Offering to intercede in a judicial issue involving Mugerwa in return for sponsorship of the victim's visa, Mugambe had signed a "dishonest" arrangement with Mugerwa.
Prosecutors contend that Mugerwa, who fled the UK and was not charged, had always meant to exploit the woman, therefore robbing her of financial independence and treating her like a personal servant. After Thames Valley Police received allegations that a woman was being held as a slave, the victim's circumstances became known on February 10, 2023.
Later on, police found her photo ID buried under Mugambe's bedroom book. Mugambe refutes all allegations, including those of breaching UK immigration rules, encouraging travel for exploitation, forced labour, and witness intimidation.
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