MPUMALANGA’S environmental MEC Luckson Mathebula appeared briefly in the Graskop regional court on Friday after he allegedly beat his wife so severely with a wooden elephant curio that she had to be hospitalised. Mathebula appeared for the third time on common assault charges, but was not asked to plead. Rose Aletta Mnisi (32) is Mathebula’s common-law wife and reportedly spent six weeks in hospital after sustaining permanent damage to her jaw. Mathebula did not respond to attempts to reach him for comment on Friday, but said in a previous formal press statement that Mnisi was crazed and had inflicted the injuries upon herself to discredit him.