Xanet Scheepers

By Xanet Scheepers

Digital Lifestyle Editor


EXCLUSIVE: ‘I looked my husband in the eyes for the first time on our wedding day’ – Magdalene Moonsamy

The new bride shared some of her intimate wedding photos with us.


Power house attorney Magdalene Moonsamy’s second marriage was not love at first sight, but a relationship that slowly budded over time via zoom meetings.

The attorney met her husband in 2021 when she was a part of the panel of jurists during the International Tribunal on US Human Rights Abuses against black, brown, and indigenous peoples.

Moonsamy’s new husband is Jihad Abdulmumit, who played a direct role in the Black freedom struggles of the 1960s/1970s. He served 23 years in prison as a domestic political prisoner.

Speaking to The Citizen, Moonsamy said she looked her husband in the eye for the first time during their Islamic wedding ceremony two weekends ago.

ALSO SEE: Freedom fighter ‘Maggie’ Moonsamy loves defending human rights

Magdalene Moonsamy’s wedding

The couple got married at the Turkish Mosque in South Africa during a small, private ceremony attended by family and the community.

Magdalene says there wasn’t really a lot of time to plan a big wedding on such short notice. Jihad proposed telephonically at the end of December 2022, not leaving much time for her to put together a lavish wedding.

There wasn’t even time to get a wedding dress designed, so the bride-to-be added her own elegant touches to a dress she already had.

While she did have the most beautiful shoes for her wedding day, Magdalene said she barely wore them, carrying them in her hand for most of the day. “It was just so hot and beautiful. I didn’t want to be tiptoeing all over the place and I just didn’t feel like wearing them.”

The new bride recalled the special moment during their wedding ceremony when her and her husband’s eyes met for the first time. “That moment stood out to me because it showed how pure the nature of this marriage is,” Magdalene said.

ALSO SEE: ‘My speech healing is very slow’ – Lira

Long-distance marriage

Moonsamy’s new husband lives in the United States and for now the couple will travel back and forth to see each other. Magdalene says they still need to figure out the details about who will relocate where, but for now they are good, adding that she spends a lot of time in the US. “It’s just a matter of planning,” she said.

There hasn’t been time for the newlyweds to go on their honeymoon as Magdalene is the sole proprietor of Magdalene Moonsamy attorneys, but she says her husband is still in South Africa for now.

PICS: Inside Magdalene Moonsamy’s beautiful Islamic wedding

Magdalene wedding dress
Magdalene put together her own wedding look.
Picture: John Lekota / JohnOsea Media
Magdalene wedding
Jihad Abdulmumit and Magdalene during their Islamic wedding ceremony.
Picture: John Lekota / JohnOsea Media
Abner Mosaase and his wife Thato
Abner Mosaase and his wife Thato at the wedding ceremony.
Picture: John Lekota / JohnOsea Media
Advocate Cawe
Advocate Cawe congratulates Magdalene.
Picture: John Lekota / JohnOsea Media
Sanet and Henk van der Heide
Sanet and Henk van der Heide with Magdalene.
Picture: John Lekota / JohnOsea Media
Turkish Mosque Magdalene
Magdalene at the Turkish Mosque.
Picture: John Lekota / JohnOsea Media

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