The former Archbishop of Cape Town, Nobel Peace Prize winning Desmond Tutu has compared Uganda’s new anti-gay law to Nazi and Apartheid discrimination.

Archbishop Tutu said that the was “very disheartened” that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is intending to sign a bill into law that could see gay people facing lifetime prison sentence.

“In South Africa, Apartheid police used to rush into bedrooms where whites were suspected of making love to blacks,” Archbishop Tutu said in a statement. “It was demeaning to those whose ‘crime’ was to love each other, it was demeaning to the policemen ? and it was a blot on our entire society.”

“The history of people is littered with attempts to legislate against love or marriage across class, caste and race. But there is no scientific basis or genetic rationale for love… There is no scientific justification for prejudice and discrimination, ever. And nor is there any moral justification. Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa, among others, attest to these facts.”

“My plea to President Museveni is to use his country’s debate around the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as a catalyst to further strengthen the culture of human rights and justice in Uganda.”

Archbishop Tutu argued that President Museveni should be more concerned with child abuse, rape, sexual violence and prostitution, adding: “Tightening such areas of the law would surely provide children and families far more protection than criminalising acts of love between consenting adults.”

Last year Archbishop Tutu said that he would rather go to hell than worship a homophobic God. “I would refuse to go to a homophobic Heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place.

“I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this. I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about Apartheid. For me, it is at the same level.”