diff --git a/kafka/conn.py b/kafka/conn.py
index cac354875..1efb8a0a1 100644
--- a/kafka/conn.py
+++ b/kafka/conn.py
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ class SSLWantWriteError(Exception):
 try:
     import gssapi
     from gssapi.raw.misc import GSSError
-except ImportError:
+except (ImportError, OSError):
     #no gssapi available, will disable gssapi mechanism
     gssapi = None
     GSSError = None