Seun Kuti: On Fela’s Life, Death, Legacy

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Decades after the death of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, conversations about his life, controversial choices, and enduring legacy continue to provoke debate. Now, his son, Seun Kuti, is offering a candid and deeply personal perspective on the man behind the myth—his father

There had long existed the narrative that music icon, Fela, died of complications arising from AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) on August 2, 1997, at the age of 58.

His family, led by his brother, Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti did announce at the time that Fela passed away from heart failure caused by the ailment.

Citing the AP in a report, the revelation “immediately raised questions about whether any of Fela’s 27 wives had contracted the disease.” Despite the family announcement, some close associates, notably his former manager Rikki Stein, his protégé Dede Mabiaku, argued that Fela died due to the cumulative physical abuse from countless encounters with security forces, or suggested poisoning.

His son Femi Kuti, would become a prominent voice in HIV/AIDS prevention and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In a 2000 interview with the Guardian, Femi, also an accomplished musician, said the family “… suspected much earlier, in 1986” that his father had AIDS, but could only confirm it when he died as Fela was never tested when he was alive.

In an article by Sean Jacobs, Founder and Editor of Africa is a Country, Fela’s last song was apparently called “C.S.A.S (Condom Scallywag and Scatter),” according to a British music and arts broadcaster, Peter Culshaw. 

The article further noted that in a 2004 reminiscence of Fela, Culshaw summarised the controversial song as describing “…the use of condoms as ‘un- African’.”

“Woman got no other role than making the man happy,” Fela was quoted to have once said. Culshaw, who met Fela a number of times from the 1980s onwards, wrote that right up to his death Fela refused to be tested “to determine the cause of his weight loss and skin lesions.” ‘… About the only concession Fela made to white medicine was to let Olikoye stitch up his head after the police had gashed it.

“There was hardly an illness African herbs couldn’t cure, Fela maintained, and he dismissed condoms as unnatural, unpleasurable, and a white plot to reduce the black birthrate. He believed, says Olikoye, that “all doctors were fabricating AIDS, including myself.”

“By the time Fela allowed himself to be taken to a hospital, he was so far gone he never heard the test results confirming that he was infected with HIV. A few days later, deep in a coma, he choked on his own vomit and died …’

However, speaking during a recent Instagram Live session, the son of the legendary Afrobeat pioneer, Seun Kuti, corroborated some concerns about his late father’s personal life, specifically the AIDs factor around his father’s death and the multitude of women.

Known for his outspoken views, Seun has continued his father’s tradition of using music and public platforms to address political and social issues.

Seun in the said Instagram video, a clip of which went viral, addressed growing conversations about Fela’s life, values, and relationships, saying the legendary singer was not a perfect man despite his global influence and cultural legacy.

Seun claimed that his father contacted HIV from his partners, who were allegedly involved with other men. According to him, one of Fela’s biggest mistakes was allowing his partners the same level of freedom he enjoyed in his relationships. Seun said: “One of his mistakes was… I saw a girl online who was saying people were praising Fela.

“Didn’t he give his women AIDS? Didn’t Fela die of AIDS? They said Fela was giving his women HIV. I said, ‘Oh, Fela, did you see yourself?’ If Fela had been a traditional man, as you all think, he would still be alive. And I will tell you something today about him that you might not have known. Fela’s women all had other men. I know this will give your bloggers something to say. Go and say this one. To all the ignorant fools, Fela did not keep his women to himself.

“Fela believed that, as he was free to sleep with all these women, they were also free to go and meet other men. ‘Just don’t bring them to my house.’ That was my father’s law. Any woman he liked, he would bring home. It was his women who went outside to meet other men. So, nobody is perfect. If he had been traditional, he would have asked, ‘Where are you going?’ ‘I am the husband.’ Everybody makes mistakes. I do not worry about that. But Fela was a man who was on the side of life. It is not our place to point out his errors,” he stressed.

Seun, who took over leadership of Egypt 80, his father’s band, at a young age has since built a career performing Afrobeat music across Europe, Asia, the United States and Africa. He has also earned global recognition for his work, including international tours and award nominations.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, credited for pioneering Afrobeat, remains one of Africa’s most influential musicians and cultural figures who used his music to challenge authority, criticise corruption and advocate for social justice during Nigeria’s military era. Beyond music, Fela was known for his unconventional lifestyle, including his marriage to multiple women at the same time. 

In 1978, he famously married 27 women in a single ceremony, many of whom were members of his band and dance troupe. The move marked the anniversary of an attack on his Kalakuta Republic compound and was intended to protect his female band members from harassment.

Beyond that historic event, he was also widely known to have had relationships with several other women in addition to those he married at once.