In a battered old Nissan bakkie he cruises solo through the streets of Olievenhoutbosch, a poor township in Centurion, Pretoria. Once one of the most hated men in South Africa, apartheid-era law and order minister Adriaan Vlok has a different mission these days.He distributes food parcels and second-hand clothing at a disability centre and two crèches. On other days he does the same for five families in Klipgat, outside the city."I've got off my high horse," he said. "I am not arrogant any more; I'm not number one any more. I am humble. The Lord has changed me."On Wednesday afternoon the 77-year-old walked around hugging disabled children in the tin-walled Olievenhoutbosch disability centre.mini_story_image_hleft1Unashamed, he admitted that during his time as minister, "I was friendly to them [black people] but, to be quite frank, I regarded myself as better than black people."It took a long time, but something did change in 2006: "I went on my knees, humbling myself in front of a black person."He was referring to the well-publicised apology when he washed the feet of the Rev Frank Chikane.Vlok, as well as the former commissioner of police, Johan van der Merwe, and three apartheid-era security policemen entered into a plea bargain with the state in 2007 over the attempted murder of Chikane. Chikane fell ill in Namibia, a day after his suitcase was opened at the former Jan Smuts airport in 1989, and his clothing was laced with the poison Paraoxon.Vlok and Van der Merwe received a 10-year suspended sentence and are awaiting a decision on their applications for a presidential pardon.They were among the 149 political prisoners recommended for it in 2010 by the so-called Reference Group, comprising MPs from various parties.Vlok, who has four grandchildren living in Australia, said receiving a presidential pardon would help him to secure a visa to Australia, which he has been unable to obtain since his conviction."Ek verlang na hulle [I miss them] because I love my children and grandchildren. They are fantastic, but I'm really busy doing things here, so the matter of the presidential pardon is important, but it is not all-important."Vlok said this week he planned to wash the feet of several other people he had "wronged", because "I have hurt a lot of people in this country".mini_story_image_vright2But he would do so in private.Dina Sekesa, the founder and manager of the disability centre, was moved to tears after hearing Vlok speak of his earlier life. Vlok embraced an emotional Sekesa, who said: "If Vlok can change, anyone can change."She said when he first visited the centre, her immediate thought was: "He, of all people, came here to visit black people in a location."Vlok's benevolence has extended to homeless people who ring his doorbell for food. He has seven freezers at his home in Centurion in which to store food close to its sell-by date that is donated by several shops.He lives in a small granny flat on his premises, and has two people living in the main house, as well as a family of four and another family of three living in two separate flats. The rent from the tenants is erratic, but Vlok does not mind.He also allows Moses Nemakonde, of Soshanguve, to run an upholstery business from his carport at no charge.Vlok's domestic worker, Fena Zwane, 74, who has worked for him and his family for more than 50 years, said: "If he was a bad man, I would have left him a long time ago."sub_head_start Apartheid trial records disappear sub_head_endTrial records from at least six magistrate's courts have disappeared, complicating the process of finalising applications for presidential pardons in these cases.The department confirmed that 44 of the 149 people recommended for pardons are still in jail - and nine of those don't qualify, due to parole violations.Marjorie Jobson, national director of Khulumani Support Group, confirmed that as far back as 2010 the Coalition for Transitional Justice had applied to six courts where some of the murder trials had been conducted for access to the"These courts could not provide the records for 38 prisoners," she said.mini_story_image_hleft3A list of the prisoners recommended for a presidential pardon, which was seen by the Sunday Times, revealed that the process of restorative justice had stalled in several cases because the victims could not be located.Former president Thabo Mbeki announced the special dispensation for the pardoning of perpetrators of political crimes in 2007. It is applicable only to those convicted before June 16 1999.A reference group, consisting of representatives of political parties in parliament, drew up the initial list.Among those on the list are former law and order minister Adriaan Vlok, former police commissioner Johan van der Merwe, and those responsible for the Worcester bombings, the Shobashobane massacre and the Richmond killings.Recently, the Department of Justice invited the victims of offences committed by the applicants to make written representations on whether pardon should be granted to a particular applicant.In a statement it said the process of presidential pardons was at an advanced stage and was expected to be finalised in the near future."The final decision to grant a pardon is the decision of the president."The department's spokesman, Mthunzi Mhaga, said it was not a prerequisite for a victim to give their blessing to a prisoner who had been recommended for a presidential pardon."The matter will be considered on a variety of factors and the president will apply his mind to all facts placed before him."govenderp@sundaytimes.co.za..