diff --git a/include/mraa_internal.h b/include/mraa_internal.h
index b5f7a3f..e2166e2 100644
--- a/include/mraa_internal.h
+++ b/include/mraa_internal.h
@@ -45,14 +45,6 @@ extern mraa_board_t* plat;
  */
 mraa_result_t mraa_setup_mux_mapped(mraa_pin_t meta);
 
-/**
- * Setup uart muxes to exposes the pins physically.
- *
- * @param index of the uart in the board definition to expose physically
- * @return mraa_result_t of operation
- */
-mraa_result_t mraa_setup_uart(int index);
-
 /**
  * runtime detect running x86 platform
  *
diff --git a/src/mraa.c b/src/mraa.c
index 863af60..9076316 100644
--- a/src/mraa.c
+++ b/src/mraa.c
@@ -300,35 +300,6 @@ mraa_adc_supported_bits()
     return plat->adc_supported;
 }
 
-mraa_result_t
-mraa_setup_uart(int index)
-{
-    if (plat == NULL)
-        return MRAA_ERROR_PLATFORM_NOT_INITIALISED;
-
-    if (plat->uart_dev_count == 0)
-        return MRAA_ERROR_FEATURE_NOT_SUPPORTED;
-
-    if (plat->uart_dev_count <= index)
-        return MRAA_ERROR_NO_RESOURCES;
-
-    int pos = plat->uart_dev[index].rx;
-    if (pos >= 0) {
-        if (plat->pins[pos].uart.mux_total > 0)
-            if (mraa_setup_mux_mapped(plat->pins[pos].uart) != MRAA_SUCCESS)
-                return MRAA_ERROR_INVALID_RESOURCE;
-    }
-
-    if (pos >= 0) {
-        pos = plat->uart_dev[index].tx;
-        if (plat->pins[pos].uart.mux_total > 0)
-            if (mraa_setup_mux_mapped(plat->pins[pos].uart) != MRAA_SUCCESS)
-                return MRAA_ERROR_INVALID_RESOURCE;
-    }
-
-    return MRAA_SUCCESS;
-}
-
 char*
 mraa_get_platform_name()
 {
diff --git a/src/uart/uart.c b/src/uart/uart.c
index 1ea0150..2828986 100644
--- a/src/uart/uart.c
+++ b/src/uart/uart.c
@@ -33,15 +33,53 @@
 mraa_uart_context
 mraa_uart_init(int index)
 {
-    if (advance_func->uart_init_pre != NULL) {
-        if (advance_func->uart_init_pre(index) != MRAA_SUCCESS)
-            return NULL;
+    if (plat == NULL) {
+        syslog(LOG_ERR, "uart: platform not initialised");
+        return NULL;
     }
 
-    if (mraa_setup_uart(index) != MRAA_SUCCESS)
+    if (advance_func->uart_init_pre != NULL) {
+        if (advance_func->uart_init_pre(index) != MRAA_SUCCESS) {
+            syslog(LOG_ERR, "uart: failure in pre-init platform hook");
+            return NULL;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (plat->uart_dev_count == 0) {
+        syslog(LOG_ERR, "uart: platform has no UARTs defined");
         return NULL;
+    }
+
+    if (plat->uart_dev_count <= index) {
+        syslog(LOG_ERR, "uart: platform has only %i", plat->uart_dev_count);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    int pos = plat->uart_dev[index].rx;
+    if (pos >= 0) {
+        if (plat->pins[pos].uart.mux_total > 0) {
+            if (mraa_setup_mux_mapped(plat->pins[pos].uart) != MRAA_SUCCESS) {
+                syslog(LOG_ERR, "uart: failed to setup muxes for RX pin");
+                return NULL;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (pos >= 0) {
+        pos = plat->uart_dev[index].tx;
+        if (plat->pins[pos].uart.mux_total > 0) {
+            if (mraa_setup_mux_mapped(plat->pins[pos].uart) != MRAA_SUCCESS) {
+                syslog(LOG_ERR, "uart: failed to setup muxes for TX pin");
+                return NULL;
+            }
+        }
+    }
 
     mraa_uart_context dev = (mraa_uart_context) malloc(sizeof(struct _uart));
+    if (dev == NULL) {
+        syslog(LOG_CRIT, "uart: Failed to allocate memory for context");
+        return NULL;
+    }
     memset(dev, 0, sizeof(struct _uart));
 
     dev->index = index;