diff --git a/.ci/static-checks.sh b/.ci/static-checks.sh
index cfadeaf8a8..5d0317e41e 100755
--- a/.ci/static-checks.sh
+++ b/.ci/static-checks.sh
@@ -9,4 +9,8 @@ set -e
 cidir=$(dirname "$0")
 source "${cidir}/lib.sh"
 
+# Build kata-runtime before running static checks
+make -C "${cidir}/../"
+
+# Run static checks
 run_static_checks