Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide in September 2014 and sentenced to five years in prison that October. The disgraced Olympian was then sent to serve his time at Kgosi Mampuru II, a maximum-security prison in Pretoria, South Africa that’s home to some of the country’s most dangerous individuals. The facility is notorious for gangs and violence, but Pistorius was quickly isolated from it all. Fellow inmate Boswell Mhlongo told NBC News, “He was a VIP prisoner.” He alleged the former sports star received special treatment because of his fame, noting, “He can do whatever he wants.”
However, authorities clarified, per CNN, that Pistorius’ physical limitations were the real reason for his being housed in a private cell inside the prison’s hospital wing. Early on, Pistorius met with Boitumelo Morake and Violet Ngobeni from the Judicial Inspectorate, an independent inspector of correctional services, who told CNN that all of his requests were indeed met. He asked for a bath, upgraded gym equipment, a better bed — and got it all. He was even allowed to cook his own food, although he eventually decided to rely on the prison store’s processed food items. “Oscar was worried that the food in the prison might be poisoned and that it would affect his health,” the Judicial Inspectorate’s regional manager Murasiet Mentoor shared.
And while Pistorius was angry at spending 23 hours a day in his cell, Morake mused, “At the hospital section, it is very secure and where he is, it is very clean — it’s nice and neat.”
