Fela’s wives had other men – Son, Seun Kuti claims

Maverick musician Seun Kuti has claimed that his father, the late Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, did not restrict his wives from having relationships with other men, a practice he says ultimately led to Fela contracting HIV.

During a recent Instagram livestream, Seun Kuti addressed speculations that Fela was responsible for bringing HIV to his partners, asserting that the late singer was, in fact, a victim of the disease.

“Fela made many mistakes. One of the mistakes he made… Fela’s women all had other men. 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,” Seun said. “My father doesn’t leave his house to sleep with other women outside, so it was his women who brought HIV home to him. Nobody is perfect. Everybody make mistakes.”

Seun emphasized that while Fela had flaws, he remained “a man that is on the side of humanity.” Fela Kuti, who famously married 27 women in a single traditional ceremony in Lagos on February 20, 1978, remains a towering figure in Afrobeat and Nigerian cultural history.