diff --git a/examples/low_level_api/low_level_api_chat_cpp.py b/examples/low_level_api/low_level_api_chat_cpp.py
index b86d723..8773cb1 100644
--- a/examples/low_level_api/low_level_api_chat_cpp.py
+++ b/examples/low_level_api/low_level_api_chat_cpp.py
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ specified) expect poor results""", file=sys.stderr)
 		if (len(self.params.lora_adapter) > 0):
 			if (llama_cpp.llama_apply_lora_from_file(
 				self.ctx, 
-				self.params.lora_adapter, 
-				self.params.lora_base if len(self.params.lora_base) > 0 else None,
+				self.params.lora_adapter.encode("utf8"), 
+				self.params.lora_base.encode("utf8") if len(self.params.lora_base) > 0 else None,
 				self.params.n_threads
 			) != 0):
 				print("error: failed to apply lora adapter")