diff --git a/swh/journal/tests/conftest.py b/swh/journal/tests/conftest.py
--- a/swh/journal/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/swh/journal/tests/conftest.py
@@ -232,4 +232,6 @@
 
     consumer.subscribe(kafka_topics)
 
-    return consumer
+    yield consumer
+
+    consumer.close()