DPhil student Lydia Mugambe sentenced to 6 years for enslaving the woman she brought to the UK
A former Oxford University law student and international judge has been sentenced to over six years in prison after being found guilty of enslaving a woman she lured to the UK under false pretences.
Lydia Mugambe, 50, was pursuing a prestigious DPhil in law at Pembroke College, specialising in human rights, when she was arrested in February 2023. This week, a Crown Court sentenced her to six years and four months after a jury convicted her on four counts relating to modern slavery.
During the March trial, the court heard harrowing testimony from the victim, who was misled into thinking she would be working at the Ugandan Embassy in London. Instead, she found herself trapped in Mugambe’s home, unpaid and forced to perform childcare and domestic labour under threats of deportation.
“She told me she would burn my passport and bank card if I disobeyed her,” the victim told the court.
Mugambe, who previously served on Uganda’s High Court and sat as a judge on a United Nations war crimes tribunal, tried to claim diplomatic immunity upon arrest. But the UN waived that protection, confirming she had been removed from all judicial duties.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe University of Oxford issued a stark condemnation: “We are appalled by the student’s crimes. A disciplinary process has commenced and includes powers to expel students convicted of serious offences.”
In sentencing remarks, Justice David Foxton acknowledged Mugambe’s once-prominent legal standing: “You have made a material contribution to the protection of human rights. In 2020, you won a scholarship to study human rights law at Oxford.”
“But you brought this victim to the UK with the intent to exploit her. You never planned to pay her for her work. You used coercion and threats to keep her in a state of submission. Your actions betrayed the very principles you once claimed to uphold.”
The Crown Prosecution Service praised the victim’s courage. “She showed tremendous bravery in speaking out and supporting the prosecution of a powerful woman who exploited her,” said a CPS lawyer.
The judge also noted Mugambe’s complete lack of remorse, reinforcing the sentence with a compensation order. Mugambe must pay the victim over £12,000, and a lifelong restraining order has been imposed to ensure the victim’s safety.
Mugambe’s conviction is one of the most high-profile examples of modern slavery prosecuted in the UK’s legal sector. Campaigners say it highlights how such crimes can be committed by individuals in positions of power, not only in marginalised communities or illicit networks.
One barrister familiar with human rights litigation commented anonymously: “This case should force institutions to reconsider how they vet and monitor individuals, regardless of status or accolades. It’s deeply troubling — and deeply hypocritical.”
Oxford’s disciplinary proceedings are expected to move swiftly. While the university does not typically comment on individual student matters, sources suggest that expulsion is now inevitable.
The case has shocked both the legal and academic worlds, exposing a grim irony: a human rights scholar found guilty of robbing another person of their most basic rights.
