diff --git a/scouter/activities/kafka.py b/scouter/activities/kafka.py
index 64ad62e..ccd434f 100644
--- a/scouter/activities/kafka.py
+++ b/scouter/activities/kafka.py
@@ -58,20 +58,13 @@ class Kafka(BaseActivity):
         topic = input_data["topic"]
 
         # Subscribe to the specified topic
-        kafka_connector = KafkaConsumer(
-            topic,
-            bootstrap_servers=self.bootstrap_servers,
-            auto_offset_reset="earliest",
-            enable_auto_commit=True,
-            group_id=self.group_id,
-            value_deserializer=lambda x: json.loads(x.decode("utf-8"))
-        )
+        self.kafka_connector.subscribe([topic])
 
         # List to store message values
         message_values = []
 
         # Poll for messages
-        records = kafka_connector.poll(timeout_ms=self.polling_time)
+        records = self.kafka_connector.poll(timeout_ms=self.polling_time)
 
         self.debug(
             f"Polled {len(records)} records from topic: {topic}",
@@ -97,6 +90,6 @@ class Kafka(BaseActivity):
             metadata=metadata
         )
 
-        kafka_connector.close()
+        self.kafka_connector.unsubscribe()
 
         return DataFrame(message_values).to_dict()