diff --git a/git.go b/git.go
index bd01b6d..ebece03 100644
--- a/git.go
+++ b/git.go
@@ -149,6 +149,17 @@ func Shutdown() {
 	C.git_libgit2_shutdown()
 }
 
+// ReInit reinitializes the global state, this is useful if the effective user
+// id has changed and you want to update the stored search paths for gitconfig
+// files. This function frees any references to objects, so it should be called
+// before any other functions are called.
+func ReInit() {
+	pointerHandles.Clear()
+	C.git_libgit2_shutdown()
+	pointerHandles = NewHandleList()
+	C.git_libgit2_init()
+}
+
 // Oid represents the id for a Git object.
 type Oid [20]byte