Seun Kuti, son of the late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has revealed that his father allowed his wives to have relationships with other men during his lifetime. Speaking during a recent Instagram livestream, Kuti described this as one of Fela’s greatest mistakes, claiming that some of the women contracted HIV from their other partners and subsequently transmitted it to Fela.
Addressing online speculation that Fela himself infected his wives with HIV, Kuti stated that the opposite was true. “Fela made many mistakes,” he said. “One of the mistakes he made – one day, I saw a video of a lady online saying why are people praising Fela’s legacy despite him giving women HIV and dying of AIDS. I said, ‘Oh, Fela you see yourself?’ If Fela was a traditional man, he would still be alive.”
Kuti explained that Fela’s philosophy on relationships was unconventional. “Fela’s women all had other men,” he said. “Fela did not keep his women to himself. He believed that as he is free to sleep with all the women, the women are also free to meet other men. His law was that they shouldn’t bring the men to his house. My father doesn’t leave his house to sleep with other women outside, so it was his women who brought HIV home to him.”
The revelations come decades after Fela’s controversial marriage to 27 women in a single traditional ceremony in Lagos on February 20, 1978. Known for his radical views on relationships, politics, and society, Fela often challenged conventional norms throughout his life and career.
Kuti emphasized that despite his father’s mistakes, Fela remained committed to humanity. “Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. But Fela is a man that is on the side of humanity,” he concluded.
