Fela’s women had other partners, brought HIV home – Seun Kuti

Afrobeat singer Seun Kuti, has claimed that his father, late music icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, contracted HIV from his partners, who were allegedly involved with other men.

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Seun made the assertion during a recent Instagram livestream while reacting to ongoing debates about Fela’s legacy and personal life.

According to him, one of Fela’s biggest mistakes was allowing his partners the same level of freedom he enjoyed in his relationships.

He said, “Fela made many mistakes. One of the mistakes he made — one day, I saw a video of a lady online asking why people are 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. I will tell you something about him that you might not have known, Fela’s women all had other men.”

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Explaining further, Seun noted that his father believed in mutual freedom within relationships and did not restrict his partners from seeing other men, as long as they kept it away from his home.

“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 added that unlike his partners, Fela did not engage in relationships outside his home, insisting that this dynamic may have contributed to how the virus was transmitted.

“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 makes mistakes. But Fela is a man that is on the side of humanity,” Seun added.