A Ugandan High Court and UN Judge Convicted of Forcing a Ugandan Girl to Work as a Slave.
Crown Court for illegally bringing a housemaid to the United Kingdom and refusing to pay her for her services. She is set to be sentenced on May 2 and faces a potential life sentence.
Mugambe, who was pursuing a PhD in Law at Oxford University and was previously regarded as one of Uganda’s most esteemed judges, used her judicial status to facilitate the victim’s travel to the UK. She falsely listed Uganda’s High Commissioner John Leonard Mugerwa as the young woman’s employer in exchange for assisting him with a separate legal matter in Uganda. This act violated UK immigration laws. The prosecution stated that the Ugandan government declined to waive Mugerwa’s immunity, preventing him from facing charges in the UK.
The jury reached its guilty verdict after two days of deliberation. Mugambe attempted to claim diplomatic immunity, arguing that she held positions as both a Ugandan and a United Nations judge. However, the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General waived her immunity, allowing the case to proceed under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act.
Mugambe had convinced the victim that she would be employed as her paid housemaid in the UK and could seek other employment if she wished. However, upon arrival, the woman was never paid for her childcare and domestic work. Mugambe confiscated her identification documents, leaving her stranded and without options.
Chief Superintendent Ben Clark, the commander for Oxfordshire, stated that Mugambe, as an experienced legal professional, was fully aware that she was committing offenses. He emphasized that she knowingly used the pretense of employment under the Ugandan Embassy to provide a legal route of entry while intending to force the victim into servitude.
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