Ugandan UN judge convicted in UK modern slavery trial

London — A Ugandan and UN judge was convicted in Britain on Thursday of forcing a young woman to work without pay while she studied for a PhD at Oxford University.

Lydia Mugambe was appointed in 2023 to be a judge of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, which performs functions of previous tribunals relating to war crimes committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. She is also a  former judge of Uganda’s high court and a recipient of the University of Pretoria’s prestigious Vera Chirwa human rights award in 2019.

Prosecutors said Mugambe, 49, used her status in the “most egregious way” by tricking a young Ugandan woman to come to Britain in 2022 to work as a maid without payment.

“Ms Mugambe used her knowledge and power to deceive [the woman] into coming to the UK, taking advantage of her naivety to deceive and induce her into working for her for nothing,” prosecutor Caroline Haughey told jurors at Oxford Crown Court.

Mugambe was charged under the UK's Modern Slavery Act with conspiring with John Leonard Mugerwa, who was then Uganda’s deputy high commissioner, to facilitate the commission of a breach of immigration law.

Prosecutors said Mugambe and Mugerwa, who was not on trial, provided false information that the woman would work at the high commission in order to bring her into the country.

Mugambe was also charged with facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, forcing someone to work and conspiracy to intimidate a witness, to which she pleaded not guilty.

Mugambe, who told the court she had never exploited the woman, was convicted of all four counts on Thursday. She will be sentenced at a later date.

The Uganda High Commission in London and the UN tribunal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Update: March 18 2025
This story has been updated with new information, including the Vera Chirwa human rights award. 

Reuters