As Kenya braced itself for a third week of post-election unrest, analysts warned that the continuing standoff between President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, could have far more damaging repercussions for east Africa’s biggest economy than initially forecast.

Kenyan schools, which had delayed reopening because of the violence, welcomed back pupils on Monday for the first time since the Christmas break and shops opened in Nairobi’s central business district, so far untouched by the looting that has gutted other urban centres.