Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's cabinet was sworn in on Friday despite three ministers and dozens of their juniors refusing to take up their posts.

Twenty-six ministers were sworn in at a ceremony held at Nairobi's State House to serve the east African nation for a period of two years.

The three ministers and 17 deputies, including two key allies, refused to accept posts citing various reasons.

The trio -- Musikari Kombo, Charity Ngilu and Orwa Ojodeh, who rejected the local government, health and environment jobs respectively, did not appear at the swearing-in.

Ngilu, said she would not decide whether to accept reappointment as health minister until she had consulted party colleagues.

Those snubbing Kibaki say he is failing to consult coalition partners and ignoring the people's wishes.

"In formulating the cabinet I was guided by the fact that the government must not only be broad based and drawn from all corners of the country, but that it must also be cohesive and united enough to deliver on promises made to Kenyans," Kibaki said.

"As your leader I have taken the responsibility of steering this nation along the path of national prosperity. You are my chosen team and we must not cower nor hesitate because we have the full mandate and confidence of the majority of Kenyans," he added.

President Mwai Kibaki dismissed his entire team two weeks ago after he lost a referendum on a new constitution - a vote seen as a protest against him.

The new cabinet Kibaki announced on Wednesday evening was said to be made up mostly of old friends and colleagues.

He rejected all the leading politicians who stood against him and backed the successful "no" campaign in the referendum.

Also missing is former key presidential aide and transport minister Chris Murungaru, who many believed was dropped from the cabinet because of corruption allegations.

The east African nation is lurching toward a political crisis following the rejection of the positions by three ministers and more than a dozen others named as assistant ministers.

It was a further embarrassment to Kibaki, the increasingly isolated president, who announced a new cabinet on Wednesday, two weeks after dismissing all his ministers following a humiliating defeat in a referendum on a new constitution.

Analysts say Kenya is entering very uncertain political times, with opposition parties saying Kibaki should now call an early general election.

The draft constitution was rejected by about 57 percent of voters in the country's first referendum on November 21.

The new cabinet was supposed to be more "cohesive" but the rejections, which were blamed on Kibaki's failure to consult widely with other political groups, illustrated massive political divisions, the dramatic decline in the president's credibility and the weakness of his governing coalition.

Analysts said there were various options: a lame duck presidency until elections in 2007; a snap election, which some believe is unlikely because few rank-and-file parliamentarians would willingly relinquish their lucrative jobs two years early; or the president could attempt genuinely to reach out to his opponents.

Source: Xinhua