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HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - A Zimbabwean magistrate has sentenced a man convicted of raping 13 women to a 290-year prison term, the longest in the judicial history of the country.
State media reported Wednesday that Magistrate Simon Rogers Kachembwe described Thomas Chirembwe, 30, as "worse than a wild beast" that should be removed from society.
The serial rapist had pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday but asked the magistrate to be lenient and give him a short jail sentence.
The sentence was received with cheers from the victims while Chirembwe's relatives wept outside the courtroom.
A government minister recently called for convicted rapists to be "chemically castrated" by injecting them with a drug that reduces testosterone and lowers sex drive.
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