The governor of South Sudan’s Warrap state dismissed his minister of cabinet affairs and two other ministers this week, an official said, a move one of the ousted officials alleged was politically motivated.
Governor Bol Wek Agoth removed Achuil Malei Aliap, the minister of cabinet affairs; Dr. Elia Mawe, the minister of local government; and Madit Mawien, the minister for peace building, on Tuesday, according to state Information Minister Mamer Bath.
Governor Wek was appointed governor in June 2025, succeeding Magok Magok.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday, the dismissed Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Achuil Malei Aliap, contested his removal, saying he was given no reason for his “surprising” and “abrupt” dismissal.
“The governor suspended me and no reasons were shown, whether it is a political and administrative move,” Malei said. “I called the secretary general about the issue on whether I should leave or wait for investigation, and he told me that there is no investigation needed.”
Malei called on the governor to make public the reasons for the dismissals. “The governor should know the reasons why he sacked me and the other two ministers,” he said.
He asserted that the action was a “politically motivated move” and that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. This is the second time Malei has been dismissed from a state-level post.
He was removed as minister of general education and instruction earlier this year amid accusations of embezzling 70.5 million South Sudanese pounds (SSP), though he was never formally charged.
Reflecting on his previous tenure, Malei defended his record in the education ministry. “When they sacked me in ministry of education, they charged me of embezzlement of SSP 70,500,000,” he said.
“I have introduced mock exams for primary eight and senior four and I was having plans to buy a car (pick-up) to carry exams, building [a] meeting hall, [and] two secondary schools in Anei Atak and Romic areas because Tonj east county does not have secondary schools.”
He alleged that his “good plans were interrupted by political rivals who do not want the system.”
Warrap State Information Minister Mamer Bath denied that the cabinet reshuffle was politically driven, describing it instead as a routine governmental change.
“The general security situation in Warrap state is stable, only with minor cases of thefts,” Bath said. “Concerning the sacking of ministers, it is routine of the government to appoint and relieve, so it is not pertaining to politics.”
He also pushed back against allegations circulating on social media that the dismissals were linked to an imbalance of political representation between the state’s greater Tonj and greater Gogrial regions.