diff --git a/roles/kiwix/tasks/kiwix_install.yml b/roles/kiwix/tasks/kiwix_install.yml
index b0d5ec5dc..355662934 100644
--- a/roles/kiwix/tasks/kiwix_install.yml
+++ b/roles/kiwix/tasks/kiwix_install.yml
@@ -72,7 +72,10 @@
 
 # workaround because unarchive does not set ownership properly
 - name: Set kiwix ownership
-  command: "chown -R root:root {{ iiab_base }}"
+  file: path="{{ iiab_base }}"
+        owner=root
+        group=root
+        recurse=yes
 
 # workaround because kiwix-serve does not stay running
 - name: Make an entry in crontab to restart every hour