diff --git a/mixing/mixpool/mixpool.go b/mixing/mixpool/mixpool.go
index 697b03c10..29aa6e875 100644
--- a/mixing/mixpool/mixpool.go
+++ b/mixing/mixpool/mixpool.go
@@ -1397,7 +1397,7 @@ func (p *Pool) checkAcceptKE(ke *wire.MsgMixKeyExchange) error {
 
 	keEpoch := time.Unix(int64(ke.Epoch), 0)
 	if keEpoch.Add(earlyKEDuration).Before(time.Now()) {
-		return ruleError(err)
+		return ruleError(ErrEarlyKE)
 	}
 
 	return nil