Fela Kuti's brother announced he died of AIDS, he was buried in his own courtyard, and his estate signed with WME 26 years later

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti married 27 women publicly and supported a household of more than 100 people. He died in a Lagos hospital at 58. The next day his elder brother, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a former federal health minister, told a press conference the immediate cause was heart failure with complications from AIDS, diagnosed ten days earlier. He said it was up to Fela's wives to decide whether to be tested. Tens of thousands filed past the coffin at Tafawa Balewa Square. He was buried in the courtyard of his two-storey home in Ikeja. Fela left no will, according to later reporting^†. His manager, Rikki Stein, said at the funeral that the way to keep Fela alive was to protect his works. On 15 October 2012 the house opened as the Kalakuta Museum, with $250,000 from the Lagos State government for the remodelling and his grave in front of it. The estate's administrators, with Femi Kuti speaking for them, refused the ruling APC party use of "Eko Ile" in the 2022 campaign. In 2023 the estate signed with WME Legends to manage his name, image, likeness, music and publishing worldwide. His grave and museum are in Ikeja in 2026.