By Our Reporter
A wave of public outrage erupted online following comments made by Judge David Foxton just minutes before sentencing former United Nations judge Lydia Mugambe for modern slavery offences.
Mugambe, 50, was sentenced to six years and four months by Oxford Crown Court for forcing a young Ugandan woman to work unpaid as a maid and nanny while she studied at the University of Oxford.
The woman was lured to the UK under false pretences and subjected to domestic servitude in Mugambe’s Oxfordshire home.
Despite finding Mugambe guilty of serious offences, Judge Foxton remarked that the case was “very sad” and acknowledged her “notable contributions to human rights and legal scholarship.”
These comments, seen by many as sympathetic to the convict, have drawn fierce criticism online.
Social media users accused the judge of showing undue leniency and overlooking the trauma experienced by the victim.
The judge also noted that Mugambe had “shown absolutely no remorse” and had tried to “forcibly blame” the victim.
Still, the inclusion of her professional accomplishments in the sentencing remarks prompted a backlash, with critics arguing it risked overshadowing the suffering inflicted on the victim.
Mugambe, also a High Court judge in Uganda, maintained her innocence and insisted she treated the victim with care.
Meanwhile, the victim described living in fear, stating she “may never see her mother again.”
The University of Oxford has initiated disciplinary action, expressing its shock and condemnation of Mugambe’s actions.
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