diff --git a/runbullet/bin/pusher b/runbullet/bin/pusher
index 65db3c24c2..0fb06bb2b5 100755
--- a/runbullet/bin/pusher
+++ b/runbullet/bin/pusher
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def get_backend(config):
             and 'pusher' in config['backend.kafka'] \
             and config['backend.kafka']['pusher']:
         c = config['backend.kafka']
-        return KafkaBackend(server=c['server'], topic=c['topic'])
+        return KafkaBackend({'server':c['server'], 'topic':c['topic']})
 
 def main():
     config = parse_config_file()