diff --git a/src/cthulhu/gi_setup.py b/src/cthulhu/gi_setup.py
index 62f38c0..f683867 100644
--- a/src/cthulhu/gi_setup.py
+++ b/src/cthulhu/gi_setup.py
@@ -21,29 +21,48 @@
 
 import gi
 
-# Set the GIRepository version first - handle different versions for compatibility
+# FIRST: Load GIRepository with the correct version
+# This is critical: get GIRepository loaded BEFORE anything else
 try:
     gi.require_version('GIRepository', '3.0')
-except ValueError:
-    gi.require_version('GIRepository', '2.0')
+    from gi.repository import GIRepository
+except (ValueError, ImportError):
+    try:
+        gi.require_version('GIRepository', '2.0')
+        from gi.repository import GIRepository
+    except (ValueError, ImportError):
+        print("WARNING: Could not load GIRepository with either version 2.0 or 3.0")
 
-# Now set versions for all other required GI modules
+# SECOND: Set versions for other modules and import them
 gi.require_version('Atspi', '2.0')
 gi.require_version('Gdk', '3.0')
 gi.require_version('Peas', '1.0')
 
-# Import all commonly used gi modules to make them available through this module
-from gi.repository import GObject
-from gi.repository import Atspi
-from gi.repository import Gdk
-from gi.repository import Peas
+try:
+    from gi.repository import GObject
+except ImportError:
+    GObject = None
+
+try:
+    from gi.repository import Atspi
+except ImportError:
+    Atspi = None
+
+try:
+    from gi.repository import Gdk
+except ImportError:
+    Gdk = None
+
+try:
+    from gi.repository import Peas
+except ImportError:
+    Peas = None
 
 try:
     gi.require_version('Gio', '2.0')
     from gi.repository import Gio
-except ValueError:
+except (ValueError, ImportError):
     Gio = None
 
-
-# Export all the imported modules for convenience
-__all__ = ['gi', 'GObject', 'Atspi', 'Gdk', 'Peas', 'Gio']
+# Export all the imported modules
+__all__ = ['gi', 'GObject', 'Atspi', 'Gdk', 'Peas', 'Gio', 'GIRepository']