WATCH: No preferential treatment for Pistorius
Local and international media were on Tuesday given a rare glimpse into the Kgosi Mampuru II Central Prison in Pretoria.
Acting Regional Commissioner for Gauteng, Mandla Mkhabela, accompanied media on the tour and explained that they wanted to give the public a closer look at the cells that housed high profile prisoners, such as Paralympian Oscar Pistorius and Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir, amongst others.
The Department of Correctional Services wanted journalists to see the prison conditions for themselves and even take photographs, to tell the real story.
Most media houses admitted to being most interested in seeing where Pistorius was held during his almost one year jail term.
Mkhabela explained, as he led the tour through the cells, that no one received preferential treatment at the prison and that inmates were housed in accordance with the law as well as their individual needs.
A bath was built into the bathroom used by Pistorius to accommodate his disability.
He said they realised it was necessary to give media an inside look so they could report from an informed position, adding that Pistorius was a high profile inmate and his conditions of incarceration demanded clarity, even joking that Kgosi Mampuru almost changed to Oscar Mampuru.
"High profile offenders come and go in correctional facilities throughout the country and it's not about one offender. We have 35 000+ offenders in the Gauteng region and we can't spend our energy and focus on one offender," Mkhabela said.
(Photo: Maryke Vermaak)
(Edited by Suné du Toit)