FORMER Mpumalanga MEC for environmental affairs, Luckson Mathebula, and his girlfriend were denied bail in the Mhala Regional Court in Bushbuckridge on Friday for the alleged murder of Mathebula’s estranged wife. Northern Province police spokesman Senior Superintendent Phuti Setati said Mathebula and 34-year-old Pretty Gama — an employee of Coca-Cola in Nelspruit — will be remanded in custody until June 24. All charges against a third accused, a 34-year-old man, were withdrawn, Setati said. A fourth suspect, Jimmy Chauke, 47, appeared in court on Thursday and was remanded until July 5. Mathebula’s wife, Aleta Rose Mnisi, a 35-year-old school teacher, was gunned down at point blank range in front of a group of primary school children last Wednesday.