diff --git a/external/CMakeLists.txt b/external/CMakeLists.txt
index 48662252d..81337cd81 100644
--- a/external/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/external/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -472,6 +472,7 @@ if (LINUX)
                 GIT_TAG ${UHD_TAG}
                 PREFIX "${EXTERNAL_BUILD_LIBRARIES}/uhd"
                 CMAKE_ARGS ${DEFAULT_OUTPUT_DIRECTORIES}
+                -DENABLE_PYTHON_API=OFF
                 SOURCE_SUBDIR host
                 INSTALL_COMMAND ""
                 TEST_COMMAND ""