Ex-footballer Taiwo Leo Atieno appears in court charged with assaulting Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan

Former football player Taiwo Leo Atieno has appeared in court, charged with assaulting Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan.

The 39-year-old, who played for Luton Town between 2010 and 2011 faces eight charges relating to Buchanan, and they span across 13 years. He appeared in court today via a video link from HMP Wormwood Scrubs and was not asked to enter pleas (via Sky News).

At the Harrow Crown Court case sitting at Southwark yesterday (June 5), Judge Ian Bourne KC granted his release from prison on conditional bail. The conditions state that he must surrender his passport, not apply for international travel, nor enter the London Borough of Barnet.

“There must not be any contact either directly or indirectly with the complainant Keisha Buchanan. That means any form of contact, whether it be by email or other sort of social media messaging system – any contact at all,” the judge added.

Atieno’s attorney said that the ex-footballer “fully understands it, and assures the court through us that he will abide by that”.

Atieno is charged with assaulting the singer and causing her bodily harm between January 1 2012 and January 1 2015, as well as controlling or coercive behaviour towards her in the period between December 29 2015 and May 1 2018.

It alleges that the athlete – who also played for the Kenyan national team – opened correspondences addressed to Buchanan, controlled her finances, controlled when she could go to the gym and shower, and did not allow her to wear red lipstick.

These actions, the charge claims, came “at a time when he knew or ought to have known that the behaviour will have a serious effect” on her, and caused the singer “serious alarm or distress”.

Atieno also faces charges of six counts of breaching a non-molestation order. These allegedly took place on July 18 and 20 last year, when he posted information about the ‘Push The Button’ singer to a third party online. Other accusations include breaching the order by emailing Buchanan four times last year, on August 2, November 19, December 19 and December 23.

He is due to enter pleas on August 22 and his trial will commence on April 13 next year.

Keisha Buchanan was a founding member of Sugababes and remained in the group from 1998 to 2009. After numerous changes in the line-up, she, along with original members Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy, regained the rights to use the name in 2019 and reunited at Glastonbury in 2022.

Earlier this spring, they shared the single, ‘Weeds’, and played their biggest-ever UK and European tour.

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