diff --git a/marconi/transport/helpers.py b/marconi/transport/helpers.py
index 825e06d5f..a36a41fdf 100644
--- a/marconi/transport/helpers.py
+++ b/marconi/transport/helpers.py
@@ -13,10 +13,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-try:
-    import simplejson as json
-except ImportError:
-    import json
+import simplejson as json
 
 
 class MalformedJSON(Exception):
diff --git a/tools/pip-requires b/tools/pip-requires
index 3dafcb3e0..8bc5484a1 100644
--- a/tools/pip-requires
+++ b/tools/pip-requires
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 cliff
 falcon>=0.1.4
+simplejson
 msgpack-python
 oslo.config>=1.1.0
 PasteDeploy