diff --git a/pythonforandroid/build.py b/pythonforandroid/build.py
index 22b788aefd..52eb1156a2 100644
--- a/pythonforandroid/build.py
+++ b/pythonforandroid/build.py
@@ -331,7 +331,8 @@ def prepare_build_environment(self, user_sdk_dir, user_ndk_dir,
                 self.cython = cython
                 break
         else:
-             self.cython = 'cython'
+            error('No cython binary found. Exiting.')
+            exit(1)
         if not self.cython:
             ok = False
             warning("Missing requirement: cython is not installed")