Cars, buses and motorcycles returned to the streets of the capital, Nairobi, and the western town of Kisumu after days of inactivity due to fears of violence after last Tuesday's vote, in which Kenyatta beat rival Raila Odinga by securing more than 54 percent of the vote, according to official results.

A Kenyan human rights group said 24 people had been shot dead by police since election day. The government put the number of dead at 10, and said they died "in the course of quelling riots and unlawful assembly". All deaths would be investigated, it added.

Allegations by Odinga of widespread electoral fraud have raised tensions in the East African country, where some 1,200 people were killed and 600,000 displaced in widespread ethnic violence after he lost the 2007 election to Mwai Kibaki.

Relief at the relatively muted protests this time, along with the re-election of a leader seen as pro-business and pro-growth, helped the stock market rise 2.5 percent on Monday. Shares have now climbed nearly 7 percent since the eve of the Aug. 8 election.

In Kibera, Nairobi's biggest slum, where opposition support is strong, many residents appeared to be observing the strike but minibuses wove their way through the rubble-strewn streets, and some food stalls and phone and money outlets had opened.

Ken Nabwere, a Nairobi resident, said he had little choice but to return to work even though he supported the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition which called the strike.