Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years for killing girlfriend

The Olympic and Paralympic runner was convicted of culpable homicide last month for shooting dead 29-year-old law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria.

Judge Thokozile Masipa - only the second black woman to rise to the bench - stressed the difficulty of arriving at a decision that was "fair and just to society and to the accused", but ordered that Pistorius serve a maximum of five years for the crime.

His only reaction was to wipe his eyes before two police officers led him down to the holding cells beneath the High Court in the heart of the South African capital.

Ninety minutes later, an armoured police vehicle carrying Pistorius - still dressed in dark suit, white shirt and black tie - left the building through a throng of reporters towards Pretoria Central Prison, where he is expected to serve his time.

Once the execution site for opponents of South Africa's former white-minority government, the jail is now home to the country's most hardened criminals, including the man known as "Prime Evil", apartheid death squad leader Eugene de Kock. Prisons officials said Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was a baby, would be housed in a separate and secure hospital wing of the massive complex.

His family remained calm throughout the sentencing.

Pistorius was also sentenced to three years for unlawful discharge of a firearm in a restaurant, with that portion of the sentence suspended for five years.

After the proceedings, one of Pistorius's legal team, Roxanne Adams, told Sky News that Pistorius will serve just a sixth of his sentence in prison - a mere 10 months - before serving the rest of his sentence under house arrest.

"Justice was served," said the Steenkamp family lawyer, Dup de Bruyn, adding that it was "the right sentence" - but the victim's mother put things in a different light.

"There is no closure without Reeva, unless you can magic her back," said June Steenkanp.

Immediately after the proceedings finished, Pistorius was led away to the holding cells from where he will be taken to jail.

The judge spoke for an hour about the circumstances of the crime, coming to the conclusion that "a non-custodial sentence would send the wrong message" in a nation where many believe that wealthy white citizens are able to buy their way to preferential treatment.

She also spoke about the capability of the prison service to cater for Pistorius's special needs, and of the athlete's own personal resilience.

Judge Masipa had cleared Pistorius of the more serious charge of murder, saying prosecutors had failed to prove his intent to kill when he fired four 9mm rounds through the door of a toilet cubicle in what he said was the mistaken belief an intruder was lurking behind it.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel had said at the sentencing hearing last week that only 10 years imprisonment would satisfy the South African public, who would "lose their faith in the justice system" if Pistorius avoided jail.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux had argued, however, that the double-amputee sprinter should be given community service because his sorrow and regret at killing the woman he loved was the worst punishment of all.

He also said Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby, would face particular difficulties in prison.

Even the idea of Pistorius avoiding a custodial sentence inflamed public anger and fuelled a perception among black South Africans that, 20 years after the end of apartheid, wealthy whites can still secure preferential justice.

Indicating the public mood, a cartoon by popular satirist Zapiro in the Sunday Times mocked a potential sentence of house arrest. It depicted Pistorius popping champagne with friends in a sports car, while an ankle tag bleeped on a pair of prosthetics left inside his house.

The six-month trial captivated South Africans and many people around the world who admired Pistorius as a symbol of triumph over physical adversity. With its glamorous victim, tears and tragedy, and Pistorius' fall from grace, it has been endlessly discussed.

It also highlighted the country's endemic violence - in domestic situations in which women suffer abuse from their partners, and also in its high crime rate. The claim that Pistorius feared his home had been invaded struck a chord with some South Africans.

Pistorius' sister Aimee said on Monday the shooting and trial had been damaging for everyone.

"The guilt and ridicule that surrounds it as well as the exposure...and just the heartache for both my brother, my family and of course the Steenkamp family," she told South Africa's ENCA television.

The athlete's uncle concluded that the family accept the sentencing and asked for privacy following the verdict.

"Oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to society," he said in a brief statement to reporters.