The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has issued a public apology to Dennis Basweti, a man mistakenly identified as one of the individuals who stormed Parliament during the recent anti-Finance Bill protests.
Dennis Basweti found himself unexpectedly in the limelight when his photo appeared on a list of suspects wanted for the breach of Parliament. This list was widely circulated in local newspapers and on social media by the DCI on Wednesday.
The notice, however, turned out to be based on a misunderstanding, as Basweti had not been part of the protests but had visited Parliament for entirely different reasons.
According to the DCI, Basweti voluntarily surrendered to the police and clarified that the photo used in the notice was taken during an earlier visit to the National Assembly on June 10, 2024. During this visit, he had met with South Mugirango MP Sylvanus Osoro and taken photos and videos inside the parliamentary chambers.
“The DCI has since confirmed that Dennis Basweti’s narrative is true, and has reached out to him with an apology, further commending him for believing in the DCI’s pledge to conducting investigations thoroughly and fairly,” the DCI stated in an official communication.
MP Sylvanus Osoro corroborated Basweti’s story, stating that the pastor had visited him in Parliament well before the protests occurred.
“Pastor Basweti Dennis visited me in parliament a month ago. I took him on a round tour of the chambers as he took selfies and videos with excitement. He posted them on his Facebook page on the 10th of June 2024,” Osoro explained.
Osoro noted that during the protests on June 25 and July 2, excited netizens had downloaded and shared the photos and videos of Basweti, mistakenly tagging them with hashtags like ‘tumefika bunge‘ (we have arrived at Parliament). This likely led to the photos being misinterpreted as depicting participation in the recent protests.
In response to the listing, Basweti promptly recorded a statement clarifying his innocence, which the DCI verified, leading to his exoneration from any involvement in the protests.
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