UN Judge & Former Columbia Human Rights Fellow Convicted of Human Trafficking & Forced Labor

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A United Nations judge was found guilty on Thursday of trafficking a young woman to the United Kingdom and subjecting her to forced labor.  

Lydia Mugambe, a 49-year-old Ugandan judge, "exploited and abused" the victim, prosecutors argued, forcing her to work as an unpaid maid and caregiver while preventing her from seeking legal employment. A jury convicted Mugambe of multiple charges, including facilitating illegal immigration, forced labor, and witness intimidation, as reported by the Independent.  

 

Thames Valley Police @ThamesVP Lydia Mugambe, a UN & Ugandan judge, has today been convicted of bringing a woman into the country illegally & then forcing her to work as a slave. Mugambe tried to evade justice by claiming she had diplomatic immunity, which has now been removed

Lydia Mugambe, a UN & Ugandan judge, has today been convicted of bringing a woman into the country illegally & then forcing her to work as a slave.

Mugambe tried to evade justice by claiming she had diplomatic immunity, which has now been removed 🚫

👉 https://t.co/g0nVYCPBl7 pic.twitter.com/duzVQET6Jk

— Thames Valley Police (@ThamesVP) March 13, 2025

 

Mugambe, who was a fellow at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights in 2017, had been part of a program designed to address serious human rights violations in different regions. Columbia University has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding her conviction.

 

Despite being under police scrutiny, Mugambe was appointed in May 2023 as a judge on the U.N. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. This appointment came three months after law enforcement had been called to her residence in Oxfordshire. At the time, Mugambe was pursuing a Ph.D. in law at Oxford University.  

 

The prosecution argued that Mugambe conspired with Ugandan diplomat John Leonard Mugerwa in a deceptive arrangement. Mugerwa allegedly facilitated the victim’s entry into the UK under false pretenses with the help of the Ugandan embassy, while Mugambe sought to use her influence to sway a judge overseeing a case involving Mugerwa. Mugambe denied all allegations, maintaining that she had treated the victim with "love, care, and patience," according to the BBC.  

 

Her reaction at the time of her arrest was captured in footage released by Thames Valley Police. When confronted in the kitchen of her home in Kidlington, Mugambe gasped and insisted the victim had willingly asked to work for her. "I even have immunity. I am not a criminal," she protested, before shifting blame onto the victim, whom she had deceived into traveling to Britain and then subjected to forced labor.  

 

At Oxford Crown Court, the jury found Mugambe guilty of conspiring to breach UK immigration laws, compelling forced labor, and conspiring to intimidate a witness. A majority guilty verdict was also delivered on an additional charge of arranging or facilitating travel for the purpose of exploitation.  

 

During the trial, Prosecutor Caroline Haughey KC condemned Mugambe’s actions, stating, "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."  

 

Mugambe now faces sentencing, marking a significant fall from grace for a judge once regarded as a champion of human rights.

 

Based on a report by Daily Mail | Independent  2025-03-15

 

 

[pgrahmm]

Nothing related to the UN and it's "representatives" legalities & illegalities are particularly surprising.....

It's all about networks of graft, greed, & power accumulation....