By A Ugandan judge once lauded for her legal prowess now finds herself behind bars in the United Kingdom after being convicted in a case involving human trafficking and forced labour.
Justice Lydia Mugambe-Ssali, aged 50, was sentenced to six years and four months by the Oxford Crown Court following a damning trial that laid bare her exploitation of a fellow Ugandan woman. The court found that Mugambe lured the victim into the UK with false promises, only to trap her in unpaid servitude.
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At the time of the offences, Mugambe was a student living in Oxfordshire. She had arranged for the woman to be granted a UK visa, not in her own name, but through Uganda’s Deputy High Commissioner in London, John Leonard Mugerwa. Authorities said Mugerwa used his diplomatic status to sponsor the travel documents, allegedly knowing the woman would be passed on to Mugambe.
Upon arrival in the UK, the woman was collected from the airport and taken to a private residence in the town of Kidlington, where she worked without pay as a maid and child caregiver. Her passport and bank card were reportedly confiscated, and she was subjected to intimidation, including threats of destruction of her identity documents.
“She told me I had no rights and warned that I’d never leave,” the victim revealed in a statement read aloud in court. “I was treated as if I didn’t matter.”
British prosecutors charged Mugambe with conspiracy to breach immigration laws, human trafficking, and witness intimidation. They also argued that she had promised legal assistance to Mugerwa in a separate matter in Uganda in exchange for his help with the visa.
Although Mugerwa was investigated, the case against him collapsed due to diplomatic immunity, which the Ugandan government declined to waive.
The presiding judge ordered Mugambe to pay £12,160 (about 58 million Ugandan shillings) in compensation to the victim. A restraining order was also issued as part of the sentence.
The woman, whose identity will remain permanently protected, has since been placed under the care of support services. Her testimony, described as brave and compelling, was central to the prosecution’s success.
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Chief Superintendent Ben Clark of Thames Valley Police called the case a stark example of how modern slavery can be perpetrated by those in respected professions. “Mugambe was a highly educated legal professional, fully aware that her actions were criminal,” he said. “This case proves that exploitation can be concealed even behind the veil of legal status and respectability.”
Mugambe’s legal background includes work with the United Nations Criminal Tribunal, as well as high-level judicial appointments in Uganda. Her fall from grace has prompted questions back home, especially as it coincides with a new prisoner transfer agreement between Uganda and the UK raising the possibility of her serving part of her sentence in Uganda.
