diff --git a/deepspeed/pt/deepspeed_checkpointing.py b/deepspeed/pt/deepspeed_checkpointing.py
index 2a5bb2ab688b..746adae1c599 100755
--- a/deepspeed/pt/deepspeed_checkpointing.py
+++ b/deepspeed/pt/deepspeed_checkpointing.py
@@ -602,11 +602,11 @@ def reset():
         size_offsets = []
 
 
-def _configure_using_config_file(deepspeed_config):
+def _configure_using_config_file(deepspeed_config, mpu=None):
     global num_layers, PARTITION_ACTIVATIONS, CONTIGUOUS_CHECKPOINTING, \
             PA_TO_CPU, SYNCHRONIZE, PROFILE_TIME
 
-    config = DeepSpeedConfig(deepspeed_config).activation_checkpointing_config
+    config = DeepSpeedConfig(deepspeed_config, mpu=mpu).activation_checkpointing_config
     logger.info(config.repr())
     PARTITION_ACTIVATIONS = config.partition_activations
     CONTIGUOUS_CHECKPOINTING = config.contiguous_memory_optimization
@@ -684,12 +684,12 @@ def configure(
 
     _configure_defaults()
 
-    if deepspeed_config is not None:
-        _configure_using_config_file(deepspeed_config)
-
     if mpu_ is not None:
         mpu = mpu_
 
+    if deepspeed_config is not None:
+        _configure_using_config_file(deepspeed_config, mpu=mpu)
+
     if partition_activations is not None:
         PARTITION_ACTIVATIONS = partition_activations