This Day in History: February 26, 1996
Former apartheid era Minister of Law and Order, Adriaan Vlok, applied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for amnesty for his role in the bombing of a trade union headquarters in Johannesburg in 1987. He became the first apartheid minister to approach and express willingness to concede to political crimes his government had committed during the apartheid era. His appearance before the commission stunned many of his former colleagues. In his testimony to the TRC, Vlok stated that he received all instructions from President P.W. Botha. He was granted amnesty along with 22 former members of the security forces. Vlok recently approached the director general in the office of the presidency, the Rev Frank Chikane, knelt down and washed his feet to show his sincere wish to seek forgiveness for the past.