diff --git a/degesch.c b/degesch.c
index fad77f3..ed56a0d 100644
--- a/degesch.c
+++ b/degesch.c
@@ -4787,6 +4787,12 @@ irc_handle_rpl_topic (struct server *s, const struct irc_message *msg)
 	hard_assert ((channel && buffer) ||
 		(channel && !buffer) || (!channel && !buffer));
 
+	if (channel)
+	{
+		free (channel->topic);
+		channel->topic = xstrdup (topic);
+	}
+
 	if (buffer)
 	{
 		// FIXME: logging