Afrobeat star Seun Kuti has shared fresh insight into the private life of his late father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, saying the iconic singer never stopped his wives from seeing other men.
During an Instagram livestream, Seun addressed ongoing conversations online about how Fela contracted HIV, dismissing claims that the music legend was solely responsible for his illness. He explained that his father lived by a philosophy of mutual freedom in relationships, though he admitted it came with consequences.
“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.”
Reacting to that criticism, he added, “I said, ‘Oh, Fela, you see yourself?’ If Fela was a traditional man, he would still be alive. I will tell you something about him that you might not have known, Fela’s women all had other men.”
Seun further explained that while his father allowed his wives that level of freedom, there was a clear boundary — they were not permitted to bring their partners into his home. He also maintained that Fela did not step outside his household to be with other women.
“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,” he said.
He concluded, “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. But Fela is a man that is on the side of humanity.”
