South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has dismissed Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Joseph Malek Arop without stating a reason for the decision.

Malek was removed with immediate effect in a presidential decree broadcast on state television SSBC on Monday.

In a separate decree, President Kiir appointed William Othwon Awer as the new deputy justice minister.

Malek had held the post since March 2020, when he was named to the cabinet under the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity.

His removal comes against the backdrop of a dispute over the boundaries of the contested Abyei area.

In recent weeks, Malek, who hails from Twic in Warrap State, became embroiled in controversy after circulating a map that he said showed the Abyei boundaries as determined by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Abyei representatives accused him of distributing a map that altered the boundaries set by the court’s 2009 ruling and demanded an investigation.

Twic representatives defended the map, insisting it accurately reflects the findings of The Hague decision.

The disagreement revolves around differing interpretations of the 2009 arbitration ruling and the boundary between Abyei and neighbouring areas claimed by Twic Mayardit communities.

The issue has long fuelled tension between the two groups.Othwon, the newly appointed deputy justice minister, is a lawyer and former governor of Upper Nile State.

He has previously worked on constitutional affairs and parliamentary human rights issues.

He served as Upper Nile governor in 2009 and has since taken part in South Sudan’s constitutional review process.