diff --git a/libsemanage/src/direct_api.c b/libsemanage/src/direct_api.c
index d2b91fb2..9a4e7938 100644
--- a/libsemanage/src/direct_api.c
+++ b/libsemanage/src/direct_api.c
@@ -1951,6 +1951,7 @@ static int semanage_direct_remove(semanage_handle_t * sh, char *module_name)
 	status = semanage_direct_remove_key(sh, &modkey);
 
 cleanup:
+	semanage_module_key_destroy(sh, &modkey);
 	return status;
 }