The Crown will officially pardon a Tuhoe prophet and leader was arrested in 1916 during a raid in which his son was killed.

 Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says the Crown will sign the historic agreement at the site where Rua Kenana was arrested on April 2 1916.

 On that day 70 armed police went to Maungapohatu to arrest Kenana and in a gun battle killed his son Toko Rua and Te Maipi Te Whiu.

 Charges against Kenana were later dismissed or resulted in his acquittal but he was sentenced to 18 months prison on an earlier charge of "moral resistance".

 Flavell says the Waitangi Tribunal in 2012 determined excessive force was used in the police raid and it was unlawful.

 "It has been over a century since this happened and it is time to right that wrong.

Government representatives will also apologise to the descendants.

Flavell said the Waitangi Tribunal in 2012 determined excessive force was used in the police raid and it was unlawful.

"It was a heart breaking moment in the history of our nation. His descendants and followers of the faith have suffered immeasurably since the police actions of that fateful day."

The agreement will be signed by descendants of Rua Kenana and representatives of the Crown at Maungapohatu Marae this morning.

The document also acknowledges the lasting effects the events of 1916 has had on his descendants.

The statutory pardon will not be made official until legislation is made by parliament, when it will only be the fourth arising from Crown/Maori relations.