By C. Bryson Hull and Hereward Holland
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya swore in a power-sharinggovernment on Thursday to soothe fury over a disputed electionthat plunged the east African country into a bloody crisis.
The 41-member cabinet, Kenya's largest and costliest ever,was sworn in at the official State House residence of PresidentMwai Kibaki, who split government posts with the party of hisclosest election challenger, new Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
The two men met secretly on Saturday and broke a six-weekdeadlock over forming the coalition, the cornerstone of apower-sharing deal agreed in February.
The announcement of the new cabinet brought relief toKenyans and investors watching for signs of lasting peace ineast Africa's biggest economy.
The shilling currency and the Nairobi Stock Exchange haverebounded already, having suffered badly after the countryerupted into riots and ethnic killings that saw more than 1,200people killed and 300,000 uprooted from their homes.
The cabinet is supposed to steer the redrafting of a newconstitution within 12 months, to help address long-simmeringissues of land, wealth and power that fuelled the crisis. Manyexpect it to descend into infighting before long.
The inauguration makes Odinga only the second primeminister in Kenyan history. Founding president Jomo Kenyattawas prime minister for the year after independence from Britainin 1963, until his title was changed.
Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who mediated the deal,attended, along with Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni andBurundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza.
For Odinga, it marks a bittersweet ascendancy to one of thecountry's top jobs. His father, independence figure JaramogiOginga Odinga, was vice president under Kenyatta but the twofell out badly.
IN THE FAMILY
Showing how little the political cast of characters anddynasties have changed since then, Kenyatta's son Uhuru wassworn in as one of two deputy prime ministers under Odinga.
For years, the former political prisoner Odinga has soughtto be Kenya's president and came within a few hundred thousandvotes in a December 27 election, which Odinga said Kibakistole.
That unleashed riots by his supporters that policeviolently suppressed, and a cycle of ethnic killings.
The violence and pictures of machete-wielding youths whofor weeks paralysed parts of the country seriously harmedKenya's image as the stable, prosperous anchor of turbulenteast Africa.
Enormous international and local pressure brought the twosides to a deal to stem the violence, but still-raw rivalrieskept the cabinet from being named for weeks.
Few Kenyans expect the cabinet to do much other thansquabble and to spend more time on self-enrichment than on themajor electoral, legal and constitutional reforms they aresupposed to tackle along with parliament.
"It's not going to be united," housewife Unia Isaac, 32,said. "It's the common man who is going to lose a lot."
Critics of the size of the cabinet say it will cost $1billion (505.5 million pounds) a year -- around 5 percent ofKenya's GDP -- to maintain, between salaries for 41 ministersand 50 assistant ministers, plus large cars, bodyguards andsupport staff for all.
"I don't care what they do as long as there is peace,"businesswoman Jacinta Wanjiru, 33, told Reuters.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say onthe top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )
(Additional reporting by Wangui Kanina; Editing by AndrewCawthorne)