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Lydia Mugambe

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Lydia Mugambe
Born (1975-03-24) March 24, 1975 (age 49) [1]
Uganda
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Lawyer, judge
TitleJustice of the High Court of Uganda

Lydia Mugambe Ssali is a Ugandan lawyer who serves as the Inspector General of Government on 18 September 2020 and UN Criminal Tribunal Judge. She previously served as a judge at the High Court of Uganda between 2013 and 2020.

In March 2025, Mugambe was convicted of "immigration and modern slavery offences" in the United Kingdom.[2]

Background and education

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Mugambe graduated from the Faculty of Law of Makerere University, Uganda's largest and oldest public university, with a Bachelor of Laws degree. She was then awarded a Diploma in Legal Practice by the Law Development Centre, in Kampala, Uganda's capital city. She also holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa.[3]

Career

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Mugambe was a senior magistrate in the Ugandan judiciary from 2000 to 2005,[4] and worked in various capacities at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda from 2005.[5]

Mugambe was appointed to the High Court of Uganda by President Yoweri Museveni[6] on 15 May 2013 until September 202[6] and assigned to the Civil Division.[7][8]

In January 2017, Mugambe delivered a judgement against Mulago National Referral Hospital, which had been sued by Jennifer Musimenta and her husband Micheal Mubangaizi, for the disappearance of their newborn baby. The judge found the hospital culpable of negligence and awarded the couple USh85 million (approximately US$24,000) in damages.[9][10] The ruling was hailed by legal observers and non-profit organisations in Uganda as a watershed judgment towards the recognition of "the rights of poor, vulnerable and marginalized women".[9][10] The ruling was nominated for the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), award in 2017.[11]

Mugambe was also appointed a Judge of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals ("the Mechanism" for short) on 26 May 2023, with term from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026, and was involved in a number of matters as a Single Judge.[5]

Mugambe is a Columbia University fellow at Columbia's Institute for the Study of Human Rights[12] and is an Oxford Human Rights Hub member.[5]

Modern slavery conviction

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Mugambe was studying for a PhD in law at the University of Oxford, England, in 2024. On 7 August 2024 she was charged by Thames Valley Police in connection with an ongoing modern slavery investigation regarding a woman she had arranged to come to Britain from Uganda, and who she was exploiting without pay as her maid.[13][14]

Mugambe claimed diplomatic immunity due to her status as a Ugandan High court judge and a United Nations judge before she was arrested—this was shown in a short BBC video[15]—but any UN immunity she may have had was waived by the Office of the United Nations Secretary General.[2]

In February 2025, the trial began at Oxford Crown Court. It was revealed that Mugambe participated in a "very dishonest" trade-off, involving Mugambe attempting to speak to a judge who was in charge of legal action in which John Mugerwa, Deputy High Commissioner at the Ugandan Embassy in London, was named, in exchange for Mugerwa sponsoring the woman's entry into the UK.[15] Mugerwa had diplomatic immunity as a Ugandan diplomat and could not be charged with any offences.[2]

In March 2025, Mugambe was convicted of one count of conspiring to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national, one count of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, one count of conspiracy to intimidate a witness, and one count of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation. She will be sentenced on 2 May.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Judge convicted of modern slavery offences". The Crown Prosecution Service. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ugandan High Court Judge and a UN Criminal Tribunal Judge convicted of immigration and modern slavery offences". Thames Valley Police. 13 March 2023.
  3. ^ Auschwitz Institute (2017). "Profiles in Prevention: The Honorable Lady Justice Lydia Mugambe is a Judge of the High Court in Uganda". New York City: Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  4. ^ Kasozi, Ephraim; Kigongo, Juliet (15 May 2013). "Called to the bench: here are the candidates". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Judge Lydia Mugambe". United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. 26 May 2023. Archived from the original on 13 March 2025.
  6. ^ a b Mary Karugaba; Ssekanjako Ssekanjako (3 May 2013). "Museveni names new judges". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  7. ^ Judiciary of Uganda (15 August 2017). "The Honorable Judges of The High Court of Uganda". Kampala: Judiciary of Uganda. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  8. ^ Kasule, Farooq (27 February 2018). "Justice Mugambe to hear UNEB-Senior Four results case". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  9. ^ a b Juliet Nafuna Musoke (21 June 2017). "Justice Mugambe's ruling on lost baby offered mothers ray of hope". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  10. ^ a b Kagumire, Rosebell (26 May 2017). "Justice Mugambe's landmark ruling in line for global award". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  11. ^ "CEHURD Court Case nominated for the Gender Justice Uncovered Awards". Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD). 19 May 2017.
  12. ^ "OUR FELLOWS - Lydia Mugambe, 2017 Uganda". Institute for the Study of Human Rights. University of Columbia. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  13. ^ "Judiciary speaks out after Justice Mugambe 'charged in UK'". New Vision. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Justice on Trial: The Fall of a Ugandan Judge Accused of Modern Slavery". Uganda. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  15. ^ a b "UN judge convicted of slavery offences at Oxford Crown Court". BBC News. 13 March 2025.
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