Sugababe Keisha Buchanan’s footballer ex-partner is accused of blocking the singer from wearing red lipstick, watching TV, and going to the gym in an alleged ten-year campaign of harassment and coercive and controlling behaviour, a court has heard.
Taiwo Leo Atieno, 39, faces claims of multiple assaults against Ms Buchanan while they were dating, controlling aspects of her life, harassment after the breakdown of the relationship, and alleged breaches of a court order banning him from contacting her.
The singer says 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”, Willesden magistrates court heard.
It is said he “did not allow her to watch TV and did not allow her to wear red lipstick”, 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.
Atieno appeared in the dock on Thursday wearing cream trousers and a blue zip-up top, indicating not guilty pleas to all four charges against him.
Prosecutor Edward Kalber told the court: “This is a persistent campaign by the defendant against the complainant to harass her, control her, and cause her psychological and physical injury.”
He said Atieno is accused of a “course of conduct over a ten-year period towards the complainant”, who went to police in December last year.
Outlining the alleged controlling and coercive behaviour, Mr Kalber said it involves allegations while Ms Buchanan was living with Atieno.
“The defendant got involved if (she) wore red lipstick”, he said, adding that he allegedly “controlled how she used the shower and gym”.
He told the court: “The defendant has conducted a campaign of terror and abuse against the complainant for over ten years.”
Ms Buchanan, 40, was one of the original members of Sugababes alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhan Dohaghy, 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.
According to reports, Ms Buchanan was once engaged to Atieno and they had begun making plans for a wedding.
His lawyer, Eli Belegu, told the court Atieno first met Ms Buchanan in 2006, she began dating in 2011, and he says he also worked as her business manager.
He denies controlling behaviour, including over her finances, denies violence, and he contests that he breached a court order.
Atieno has been charged with controlling and coercive behaviour 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.
The allegation of breaching the court order involves contact to Ms Buchanan and a claim he tried to persuade his own brother and sister-in-law from giving evidence against him in family court proceedings.
Atieno, of Langton Road, Kennington, southwest London, appeared in court from custody.
Deputy District Judge Clare Boichot sent the case to be dealt with at Harrow crown court, with a preliminary hearing set for June 5. She remanded him back into custody until the next court hearing.
