Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called on Uganda to scrap its proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

The former Archbishop of Cape Town told reporters on Tuesday at the All Africa Conference of Churches “I am opposed to discrimination that is unfair discrimination”.

He went on to say of Uganda’s pending bill, which proposes the death penalty for homosexual acts in certain circumstances, that it was “totally unjust” and the archbishop urged Ugandan lawmakers not to pass the legislation.

Last month, Ugandan parliamentary Speaker Rebecca Kadaga promised to bring a vote on the proposed law before Christmas.

Ugandans “are demanding it,” she previously declared.

With state-sponsored homophobic laws a visible presence across the continent of Africa, Archbishop Tutu said the church must stand with minorities.

“My brothers and sisters, you stood with people who were oppressed because of their skin colour. If you are going to be true to the Lord you worship, you are also going to be there for the people who are being oppressed for something they can do nothing about: their sexual orientation,” he said.

Archbishop Tutu added that people do not choose their sexual orientation, and would be crazy to choose homosexuality “when you expose yourself to so much hatred, even to the extent of being killed.”

In July, Archbishop Tutu called for the global decriminalisation of same-sex relationships to aid the fight against HIV, comparing anti-gay laws to racial segregation in his home country of South Africa.