diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/mpi4py/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/mpi4py/default.nix
index 9329d386099c..d4750f252ad0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/mpi4py/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/mpi4py/default.nix
@@ -14,6 +14,12 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     inherit mpi;
   };
 
+  postPatch = ''
+    substituteInPlace test/test_spawn.py --replace \
+                      "unittest.skipMPI('openmpi(<3.0.0)')" \
+                      "unittest.skipMPI('openmpi')"
+  '';
+
   configurePhase = "";
 
   installPhase = ''