diff --git a/pagure/lib/git.py b/pagure/lib/git.py
index 6adba13..1569659 100644
--- a/pagure/lib/git.py
+++ b/pagure/lib/git.py
@@ -1056,10 +1056,12 @@ def merge_pull_request(
             return 'MERGE'
 
         head = new_repo.lookup_reference('HEAD').get_object()
+        user_obj = pagure.lib.__get_user(session, username)
+        author = pygit2.Signature(user_obj.fullname, user_obj.default_email)
         new_repo.create_commit(
             'refs/heads/%s' % request.branch,
-            repo_commit.author,
-            repo_commit.committer,
+            author,
+            author,
             'Merge #%s `%s`' % (request.id, request.title),
             tree,
             [head.hex, repo_commit.oid.hex])