Sugababe Keisha Buchanan’s footballer ex-partner is set to stand trial next Spring over claims he harassed the singer and controlled parts of her life.
Taiwo Leo Atieno, 39, is accused of blocking the singer from wearing red lipstick, watching TV and going to the gym, and allegedly controlled what she ate when they were in a relationship.
After the breakdown of the romance, it is said he harassed her with texts, emails and social media contact, as well as an alleged request for £25,000.
He is also accused - in criminal charges spanning a decade - of attacking Ms Buchanan.
Atieno appeared on Thursday at Harrow Crown Court for a preliminary hearing, when Judge Charles Bourne KC set the case down for a five-day trial starting on April 13 next year.
The defendant appeared for the hearing on a videolink from HMP Wormwood Scrubs, having been held in custody since first being charged last month. The judge agreed on Thursday that he could be released from prison to await his trial, as long as he abides by bail conditions including the surrender of his passport.
Ms Buchanan, 40, was one of the original members of Sugababes alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy, and was part of the band as they became one of the 21st Century’s most successful pop acts.
She enjoyed chart-topping hits such as Round Round and Push the Button, before ultimately being forced out of the band in 2009.
Ms Buchanan had solo success before reuniting with her former bandmates under the title Mutya Keisha Siobhan – and together they seized back control of the Sugababes name in 2019.
Atieno was a professional footballer who made appearances for Kenya in qualifiers for the World Cup and African Cup of Nations.
The Brixton-born forward made appearances for Walsall, Tamworth, Luton Town, Stevenage and Torquay United before retiring in 2013, and he also had spells playing in Puerto Rico and Rochester in New York state.
He is charged with controlling and coercive behaviour towards Ms Buchanan between December 2015 and May 2018, assault occasioning actual bodily harm between January 2012 and January 2015, harassment between January 2021 and December last year, and an alleged breach of a non-molestation order.
A previous court hearing was told the singer alleges Atieno controlled her finances and use of the shower while they were living together, allegedly intervened in her eating habits, and only allowed her to go to the gym “at certain times”.
It is said he “did not allow her to watch TV and did not allow her to wear red lipstick” and also subjected her to verbal abuse, according to the charges.
Atieno is also accused of grabbing Ms Buchanan around the neck, punching her on the arm and striking her on the back in a series of alleged assaults, the court heard.
When blocked from contacting the singer by a family court order, it is alleged Atieno sent emails to her and he is also accused of harassment over the course of three years with texts, emails, social media contact and a request for £25,000.
According to reports, Ms Buchanan was once engaged to Atieno and they had begun making plans for a wedding.
Atieno was not asked to enter pleas to any of the charges at Thursday’s hearing.
He told the magistrates court hearing he denies all the allegations.
Atieno, of Langton Road, Kennington, southwest London, is set to return to court to enter pleas in August.
