A United Nations Judge has been found guilty of slavery.
Ugandan and UN Judge Lydia Mugabe, 49, was convicted in a U.K. court for forcing a woman to work as a slave.
Prosecutor Caroline Haughey told jurors at the court, “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.”
In 2023, Mugambe was appointed be a judge of the U.N. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
Per BBC:
A United Nations judge has been convicted of forcing a young woman to work as a slave.
Prosecutors said Lydia Mugambe, 49, “took advantage of her status” over her victim in the “most egregious way” by preventing her from holding down steady employment and forcing her to work as her maid and to provide childcare for free.
Mugambe, who is also a High Court judge in Uganda, was found guilty on Thursday of conspiring to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law, facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, forcing someone to work, and conspiracy to intimidate a witness following a trial at
Gasps were heard from the public gallery as the verdicts were given, and the court was cleared as the defendant appeared unwell.
Caroline Haughey KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial: “Lydia Mugambe has exploited and abused (her alleged victim), taking advantage of her lack of understanding of her rights to properly paid employment and deceiving her as to the purpose of her coming to the UK.”
Per Reuters:
https://wltreport.com/2025/03/13/un-judge-found-guilty-slavery/A Ugandan and United Nations judge was convicted in Britain on Thursday of forcing a young woman to work as a slave while she studied for a PhD at Oxford University.
Lydia Mugambe was appointed in 2023 to be a judge of the U.N. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, which performs functions of previous tribunals relating to war crimes committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
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.
