Pistorius’s request to move to renovated prison for disabled granted

Oscar Pistorius has been moved to a prison that is more flat and that has recently been renovated to accommodate the needs of disabled prisoners.

Pistorius was relocated earlier this month to Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, west of Pretoria.

The centre falls under the jurisdiction of the Kgosi Mampuru II prison where he was originally held.

Officials would not elaborate on why Pistorius requested the move.

“That is between Pistorius and prison officials,” Department of Correctional Services spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said.

Nxumalo said the Atteridgeville prison had recently received baths specially designed for disabled prisoners.

He said it accommodated prisoners serving sentences of up to six years.

“Pistorius’s transfer was purely due to his application, which was approved.”

He said at Kgosi Mampuru, Pistorius was placed in the remand detention centre. “That centre accommodates awaiting trial and sentenced offenders who need full-time hospitalisation.

“This was done to accommodate his disability needs. The centre, however, does not have rehabilitation and development programmes for sentenced offenders as it is strictly designed for awaiting trial detainees.”

Nxumalo said a decision was taken in May to upgrade the Atteridgeville prison to accommodate the disabled.

These upgrades were not strictly made for Pistorius, but all disabled offenders.

“They were done long before management considered moving Pistorius,” he said.

He said the move would help Pistorius engage in rehabilitation programmes tailored to offenders’ needs, sentence lengths and which were key in the consideration of parole.

Asked whether other disabled prisoners serving similar sentences had been moved to the Atteridgeville prison, Nxumalo said moves were decided on a case-by-case basis.

“In this case, Pistorius was moved because the centre is flat, which makes mobility for him easier. The previous centre was on different levels.”

He was unable to explain how different levels hampered Pistorius’s movements.

The Silverlakes home where he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was a double-storey house with stairs.