Son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti arrested for ‘police assault’
By AFP
Nigerian musician Seun Kuti, son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer, Lagos state police said on Monday.
An order was made for the arrest of Kuti, a Grammy-nominated saxophonist and singer, on Saturday after a viral video showed him on a road, shouting and apparently pushing and smacking a policeman, police said.
He turned himself in early Monday to the headquarters of the Lagos State Police Command, accompanied by a lawyer and a family representative, police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin said on Twitter.
“He has been placed under arrest in line with the law,” he said.
“The ongoing investigation will be detailed, transparent, professionally pursued; and justice will be manifestly served for all parties involved.”
Youngest son
Kuti, 40, is the youngest son of Fela Kuti, who drove Afrobeat — a powerful mix of funk and jazz — to global fame in the 1980s.
A charismatic figure and activist who was bitterly critical of Nigeria’s military regimes and corrupt elite, Fela Kuti died in 1997 but retains a fervent following today.
His son started playing in his band Egypt 80, at the age of nine and took the helm when he was just 14, after his father died.
In 2019, Kuti and the group were nominated for a Grammy, the paramount US music awards, for their album Black Times in the Global Music category.
