Alleged slave of UN judge felt 'lonely' and 'stuck'

A young woman allegedly tricked into coming to the UK to work as a slave for a United Nations judge felt "lonely" and "stuck", a trial has heard.

Lydia Mugambe is accused of stopping the woman from holding down steady employment and forcing her to work as her maid and provide childcare.

On Wednesday, jurors at Oxford Crown Court were shown a recorded police interview in which the woman said she "lost all hope".

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

Jurors heard that the alleged victim arrived in the UK believing that Ms Mugambe would help her to find a job outside her childcare duties.

The woman said she wanted to work but could not because she was under Ms Mugambe's "instruction", jurors were told.

Ms Mugambe, who is also a High Court judge in Uganda, told the alleged victim to inform her employers she could not work at weekends because her children would be at home alone, the court heard.

The 49-year-old allegedly said to the woman that if police found her children alone at the address in Oxfordshire she could be "locked up".

In the interview, the woman, who cannot be named, told police: "I was so stuck and I felt so lonely. At home she [Ms Mugambe] was changing every day, she was a different person."

The woman was afraid to talk to other people in case they told Ms Mugambe about her concerns, jurors heard.

When she eventually told Ms Mugambe she wanted to return to Uganda, the defendant allegedly replied: "How will I profit from that? What will I do with the child?", the court heard.

The woman told police: "Things were getting worse and changing every day and I had that pain where I could not turn to anyone, there was no one to talk to."

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.

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