diff --git a/makedist/makedist b/makedist/makedist
index 451a345..497c184 100755
--- a/makedist/makedist
+++ b/makedist/makedist
@@ -23,6 +23,11 @@ MAKEDIST_DEFS=$MAKEDIST_DIR/defs.inc.sh
    exit 1
 }
 
+[ "`id -u`" = "0" ] || {
+   echo "Error: you must be root to run makedist; aborting."
+   exit 1
+}
+
 opts=($@)
 
 while test -n "$1" ; do