A South African man has received a presidential pardon after persevering without success for five years to obtain an expungement of his criminal record.

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC)‚ who represented the man‚ confirmed on Thursday that he was granted a presidential pardon a day ago.

Mr M was convicted in 1985 and served a 6-month sentence.

As a result of his criminal record he had difficulties finding work‚ the LRC said.

Explaining the lengthy process he had pursued for his record to be wiped‚ the LRC said: “He approached the Department of Justice in 2012 with an application for an expungement of his record‚ to which he received an acknowledgment and a reference number. Mr M was not furnished with any further information. He would regularly enquire about the progress of his application and he was informed that his application was still being processed.

“In late 2015‚ and after considerable confusion and frustration‚ Mr M approached the LRC to assist him in clearing his criminal record. The LRC made enquiries and discovered that his application was cancelled due to ‘a lack of activity’. No explanation was given as to why the application became inactive or why this was never communicated to Mr M.”

The LRC then helped him make a fresh application. However‚ after the re-application and many follow up letters‚ it was discovered that Mr M does not qualify for an expungement in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act and needed to apply for a presidential pardon.

The request for this was filed in February 2016.

“On 14 December 2016‚ Mr M received notice that he had received his pardon...‚” the LRC said.

“Mr M is very happy about the outcome as this will enable him to find more economic opportunities.”

A person can apply for a presidential pardon ten years after a conviction. The president has the complete discretion when making his determination as to whether to pardon the applicant or not.