diff --git a/tools/utils.py b/tools/utils.py
index 1d4f7ef9c8..640403fe00 100644
--- a/tools/utils.py
+++ b/tools/utils.py
@@ -393,6 +393,8 @@ def argparse_force_type(case):
     """
     def middle(lst, type_name):
         """ The parser type generator"""
+        if not isinstance(lst[0], unicode):
+            lst = [o.decode() for o in lst]
         def parse_type(string):
             """ The parser type"""
             if not isinstance(string, unicode):