Prison officials have denied allegations that they began preparing a cell for Oscar Pistorius in case he is jailed for fatally shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year.

Pistorius, who is also known as the "Blade Runner," shot Steenkamp on Feb. 14, 2013. The South African Olympic champ pleaded not guilty to first degree murder, arguing that he shot her by mistake because he thought she was a home intruder.

Last month, he was found not guilty of first degree murder, but guilty of culpable homicide, a lesser charge also known as manslaughter. The double-amputee runner now faces anywhere between 15 years in prison to house arrest, report Fox News. Prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence for the Paralympic athlete, while his defense team has argued that he should be placed on house arrest and mandated to community service.

Although Pistorius is expected to be sentenced by Judge Thokozile Masipa on Tuesday, it has been reported that authorities have already prepped a cell in the maximum security wing of Pretoria's Central Prison for him, according to Mirror.co.uk.

In response to those reports, officials at the jail released a statement denying the allegations.

"Any insinuation that the department has prepared a cell to incarcerate anyone who has not yet been sentenced to a jail term is both malicious and irresponsible," spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga told News 24.

During his sentencing hearing, Pistorius' attorney Barry Roux questioned whether South Africa's prison system would be suited to accommodate his needs as a double-amputee. Expert witnesses also testified last week that South African jails are ill-equipped for disabled people since the showers lack handrails and exposed inmates to diseases.

However, South African President Jacob Zuma criticized the argument that the Paralympian should be spared from prison because he is disabled.

"I'm not sure why that comes into the picture," Zuma told the Guardian. "They were taking that too far in my view. There are people who are [physically] challenged in prisons; it's not an issue here. That brings an unfortunate thing, an added thing, because a man has money."

The president added: "I thought that was an unfortunate debate. You don't need it, because there are people who are disabled who are in prison. Why it is raised as if he was the first one to be convicted? I thought they were pushing it too far."