UN judge treated alleged slave 'with love'

Lydia Mugambe is a United Nations and High Court judge

A United Nations judge who allegedly tricked a young woman into coming to the UK to work as her slave has told a court that she did not force her to do household chores and care for her children.

Lydia Mugambe is accused of stopping the young Ugandan woman from holding down steady employment and taking "advantage of her status" over her.

But she told Oxford Crown Court that she always treated the woman with love, care, and patience.

Ms Mugambe, who was studying for a PhD in law at Oxford University at the time, denies four charges against her.

Under questioning from her barrister Paul Raudnitz KC, she said the woman had never said she did not want to look after the children.

She also denied forcing her to do the vacuum cleaning, wash dishes, iron, or empty the bins.

Quizzed whether she was asked to pick the children up from school, Ms Mugambe said: "She loved doing it because she was seeing how people lived in the UK, and also she was getting to talk to people."

'Locked in room'

The court was told that on one occasion the alleged victim witnessed a separate police incident and that an officer attended Ms Mugambe's property to speak to her.

Ms Mugambe, who is also a High Court judge in Uganda, said the woman accused her of calling the police on her even though the judge had "no clue" the officer was coming.

The relationship between them afterwards was "very, very cold," she said.

The defence barrister also referenced an incident when the woman claimed she asked for her passport back.

"Did you have her passport?" he asked.

She replied: "I did not have [her] passport. [She] always had her passport... she never asked me for her passport back."

The defendant was asked about an incident in which police visited her address after receiving calls about the woman being locked in her room.

Ms Mugambe said when the officers left she asked her: "Why on Earth would you call the police on me?"

She also said she never told her she could not get a job because of the children.

She said: "What I told [her] from the beginning was if you ever want to get away, don't leave them alone."

Ms Mugambe denies 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.

The trial continues.