Former Member of Parliament for the Mbulu Constituency of Manyara, Mustafa Akunaay has passed away in Arusha.
Mustafa, a resident of Sanawari area in the Sekei Ward of Arusha, was an advocate by profession, running his own firm, ‘Akonay and Associates,’ along Fire Road.
Akunay died at the NSK Hospital, located at Unga-Limited Junction of Arusha in the night of July 29, 2025.
He was previously being treated at the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma.
Mustafa has left behind a wife and several children including a young lady advocate Fauziya Akunay.
Akunaay previously also served as the Executive Director of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) and was among the founders of the Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair (KTTF) which was initiated in association with the Tanzania Tourists Board (TTB) in the late 90s.
He joined politics by enrolling with the Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) and became the party’s parliamentary candidate during the 2010 General Elections.
Akunaay managed to beat the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) incumbent, Philip Marmo in winning the National Assembly seat for the Mbulu Constituency, which he served between 2010 and 2015.
When some trouble started rocking the party, Akunay jumped ship from CHADEMA to the ACT Wazalendo party and used the latter to contest again for the Mbulu parliamentary seat, in the 2015 elections but lost.
Advocate Akunay returned to Arusha and continued with his legal profession and running his law firm before succumbing to diabetes that eventually led to the amputation of his lower limbs.
Since then, the Advocate stayed mostly home, working as consultant and advisor to a number of industries, including tourism, hospitality and even politics.
By the time he died, Mustafa Akunay was among the experts, and in fact the pivotal link, who were working on a special study document on Tanzania’s tourism industry which was due to be published anytime soon.
The late Akunaay was buried at the Njiro Cemeteries in the outskirts of Arusha City on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.