Nairobi  -  Kenya's large coalition cabinet was sworn in Thursday after former United Nations chief Kofi Annan warned that the ministers have a long road ahead of them to return Kenya to the regional powerhouse it was before post-election violence shook the country earlier this year.

Annan, who brokered a peace deal that created the coalition and ended two months of vicious violence over disputed elections, witnessed the swearing in of all 40 ministers and 52 assistant ministers at President Mwai Kibaki's official residence in Nairobi.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga was sworn in first as prime minister, ending months of tension over elections he claimed were stolen from him by Kibaki.

Odinga wore a flashy blue suit and gave Kibaki a bow on his way to take the oath of office to become Kenya's second prime minister since independence from Britain in
1963.

The swearing in ended a stalemate that nearly derailed a peace deal between Kibaki and Odinga which brought an end to the conflict that left more than 1,000 dead.

On his return to Kenya Wednesday, Annan urged all Kenyans to help their leaders in healing the divided country and called for a "cohesive, productive and effective" cabinet.

Activists have voiced dismay at the size of the cabinet, the largest in Kenya's history, but the government has insisted all facets of the country were reflected in the cabinet and much work lay ahead of the ministers.

Kenya's ministers are paid about 16,000 dollars a month in a country where most people survive on less than one dollar a day. (dpa)