diff --git a/kong/init.lua b/kong/init.lua
index 5e26d528e5a..4c3531bde35 100644
--- a/kong/init.lua
+++ b/kong/init.lua
@@ -157,7 +157,11 @@ function Kong.init()
   local config = assert(conf_loader(conf_path))
 
   local dao = assert(DAOFactory.new(config)) -- instantiate long-lived DAO
-  assert(dao:init())
+  local ok, err_t = dao:init()
+  if not ok then
+    error(tostring(err_t))
+  end
+
   assert(dao:are_migrations_uptodate())
 
   -- populate singletons