Controversy has trailed fresh remarks by Seun Kuti regarding the private life of his father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, particularly his relationships and circumstances surrounding his death.
Speaking during a recent Instagram livestream, Seun Kuti challenged long-standing public perceptions about the late Afrobeat legend, dismissing claims that Fela was responsible for infecting his partners with HIV. Instead, he suggested that the reverse may have been the case.
According to him, Fela’s unconventional lifestyle and beliefs about personal freedom extended to his relationships, allowing his wives the liberty to engage with other partners—an approach he described as one of the icon’s major missteps.
Kuti alleged that some of the women contracted HIV from outside relationships and unknowingly transmitted it to his father. He argued that this dynamic contradicts widespread assumptions that Fela was the source of the infection.
Reflecting on his father’s choices, Seun maintained that while the music legend made notable mistakes, his legacy as a cultural and political figure remains significant.
“He believed in freedom for himself and for the women around him,” Kuti said, adding that such ideals came with consequences. “Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, but Fela stood for humanity.”
The remarks have reignited conversations about Fela’s life, legacy, and the myths that continue to surround one of Africa’s most influential musical figures.
Fela famously made headlines in Lagos on February 20, 1978, when he married 27 women in a single traditional ceremony—an event that remains one of the most talked-about moments of his personal life.