Oscar Pistorius jailed: What will prison life be like for disgraced Bladerunner?

Rife with Aids, gangsters, stabbings and gang rape, Oscar Pistorius’s brutal new home - Kgosi Mampuru II prison – stands in stark contrast to the life of luxury he is used to.

Indeed, the jail, where the pampered athlete is today beginning a five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, is one of the most feared in South Africa.

The concrete fortress in Pretoria, which became notorious as the main hanging site during the Apartheid era, houses 7,000 of the country’s most violent criminals.

The vast majority of inmates are black and from impoverished backgrounds – and, unlike Pistorius, who relies on two prosthetic legs, very few are disabled.

So, what exactly can Pistorius, a rich white man who became one of the wealthiest sports stars on earth following a privileged childhood, expect?

Like every other inmate, the world’s most famous and infamous paralympian will have his own clothes and belongings confiscated and be strip-searched.

Then, he will undergo a health check and receive a standard-issue orange prison uniform.

It remains unclear where Pistorius will be housed, but he is unlikely to be crammed in with up to 80 other prisoners in a cell designed for half that number.

Authorities indicated during his sentencing hearing that the double-amputee, who was cleared of murder but convicted of culpable homicide, will be put in the hospital section.

Here, there are 22 single cells, of which seven are currently occupied, and Pistorius would have one to himself.

Each cell has a toilet, a basin, a bed with a mattress and blankets, sheets and pillow, and a cupboard.

The hospital, which is served by only one doctor and five psychologists, has showers with rails and baths, which would be essential for anyone with his disabilities.

However, South Africa’s Eye Witness News has reported that he is to be held in a specially prepared part of securely-guarded prison section with only six cells.

If so, his only neighbour would be Czech fugitive Radovan Krejčíř.

[Pistorius: From Global Icon To A Prison Cell]

[Jailed Oscar Pistorius Will Be 'Banned from Athletics for Five Years']

The 45-year-old is being tried for kidnap and attempted murder in South Africa after his homeland failed to extradite him when he fled there in 2007.

Either way, Pistorius can expect very few home comforts.

Most notably, the athlete who is used to rigorous training sessions and a special diet, will be limited to just an hour of outside exercise each days and eat basic rations, which can be supplemented by snacks bought from a tuck shop.

Most inmates at Kgosi Mampuru II, which was named after a black freedom fighter hanged there in 1883 and had until 2013 been called Pretoria Central Prison, spend 23 hours a day in their cells.

Nevertheless, prisoners still find time to attack one another – leading Pistorius’s defence team to argue that prison would 'break him'.

During the sentencing hearing, Probation officer Annette Vergeer asked the court: 'How can we say Pistorius will not be a victim of gang rape?'

Such attacks are often carried out either to extort inmates for money, which given his family’s wealth, the 27-year-old athlete might be especially at risk of.

The most horrific form of rape carried out in South African prisons is where inmates deliberately infect others with the Aids virus in a ritual known as 'slow puncture', according to a recent report by the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons.

Prior to sentencing a gang boss in the jail had also threatened to 'take him out' were he to become an inmate.

Also, he is likely to have his prosthetic legs confiscated for large portions of the day because they could be sharpened and viewed as a suicide risk.

However, during Pistorius’s sentencing hearing, authorities stressed that the prison would be a safe, secure environment for him.

They stressed that it had come a long way from the Apartheid era, when up to death row inmates were kept in a section nicknamed The Pot and up to seven men could be hanged at a time.

Indeed, while his outdoor exercise will be time limited, the jail does athletics, football, rugby and boxing facilities.

There is also a small gym in the prison section, although it remains unclear how long he will be allowed to exercise for each day.

He would only be allowed two visits per week  - on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays - for as little as 30 minutes a time, depending on his behaviour.

As a result, he faces a long stretch of loneliness - and only time will tell how well he copes.