diff --git a/kuser/kswitch.c b/kuser/kswitch.c
index f4d805de9..b22ff6ae7 100644
--- a/kuser/kswitch.c
+++ b/kuser/kswitch.c
@@ -74,6 +74,10 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
 
     setprogname (argv[0]);
 
+    setlocale (LC_ALL, "");
+    bindtextdomain ("heimdal_kuser", HEIMDAL_LOCALEDIR);
+    textdomain("heimdal_kuser");
+
     ret = krb5_init_context (&context);
     if (ret == KRB5_CONFIG_BADFORMAT)
 	errx (1, "krb5_init_context failed to parse configuration file");