diff --git a/pykat/finesse.py b/pykat/finesse.py
index 56e2955cee482643d30f959696e0f6836b2da241..2ca71c95830548a3b18e1b48ce497dda164e1a3d 100644
--- a/pykat/finesse.py
+++ b/pykat/finesse.py
@@ -1541,8 +1541,8 @@ class kat(object):
 			
             (stdout, stderr) = p.communicate()
 
-            r.stdout = stdout.decode('unicode_escape')
-            r.stderr = stderr.decode('unicode_escape')
+            r.stdout = stdout #.decode('unicode_escape')
+            r.stderr = stderr #.decode('unicode_escape')
             
             for line in r.stdout[::-1]:
                 if line.lstrip().startswith('computation time:'):