Justice Lydia Mugambe during the colloquium to consider the Supreme Court’s ruling on the 2016 presidential election petition in Kampala. PHOTO | MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
The government has promised to provide the necessary support to High Court Judge Lydia Mugambe who is currently remanded in a United Kingdom facility.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao yesterday said he had instructed the office of the Attorney General to come up with viable options on how the judge can be helped.
“I only got to know about her case two days ago. I’m instructing the Attorney General’s office to advise on the options,” Mr Mao said.
Efforts to speak to Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka, the chief government legal adviser, on the legal options his office has for Justice Mugambe were futile as his known phone number was not available by press time yesterday.
At the weekend, it emerged that the England-based Thames Valley Police had slapped Justice Mugambe with three charges connected to modern slavery.
The charges, according to the police’s website, range from conspiracy to facilitate a breach of UK immigration laws by a non-UK national, arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation, and requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
The charges against Justice Mugambe, who is on sabbatical leave to pursue her PhD at Oxford University in the UK, were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service in August.
A marathon trial has been fixed to start on February 10, 2025, at Oxford Crown Court in the UK.
When contacted, the British High Commission in Uganda said since the investigations into the matter are ongoing, they can’t comment on it.
“Thank you for your inquiry. We are unable to comment as this is a live investigation and is an operational matter for Thames Valley Police. Inquiries should be directed to their media office,” Ms Tina Wamala, the communications specialist, said in an email response yesterday.
Close family sources on Monday said the jurist is a victim of a scheme by a Ugandan girl whom she helped to travel to the UK but instead joined groups who ill-advised her on what strategies she could use to get asylum there.
It is believed that when the girl in question reached the UK, her peers advised her to report to the police that she was being held by the judge against her will. That is when the police moved in and had the judge charged.
According to UK laws, once found guilty of modern slavery, one is liable to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
