diff --git a/wicd/logfile.py b/wicd/logfile.py
index d19584a..c6bf67e 100644
--- a/wicd/logfile.py
+++ b/wicd/logfile.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class LogFile:
     def write(self, data):
         self.written += len(data)
         
-        data = data.decode('utf-8').encode('utf-8')
+        data = data.encode('utf-8')
         if len(data) <= 0:
             return
         if self.eol: