diff --git a/misc-utils/namei.c b/misc-utils/namei.c
index 9c5f5fa4a..3d50b200d 100644
--- a/misc-utils/namei.c
+++ b/misc-utils/namei.c
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ readlink_to_namei(struct namei *nm, const char *path)
 	}
 	nm->abslink = xmalloc(sz + 1);
 
-	if (*sym != '/' && isrel) {
+	if (isrel) {
 		/* create the absolute path from the relative symlink */
 		memcpy(nm->abslink, path, nm->relstart);
 		*(nm->abslink + nm->relstart) = '/';