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Aletta Riddles, the leader of Nehemiah Christian Liberation Party (NCLP), is a well-known figure in her neighbourhood and surrounding areas of Mitchells Plain, Cape Town
Aunty Lettie, as she is frequently called, spends her days fervently praying for drug-addicted children, and their parents, hoping that the fight against drugs will finally end.
Her own daughter was addicted to drugs for years. “It was the most difficult time of my life,” she says. “The court cases, hearing of her arrest, her almost being necklaced — it was frightening.”
She says that every time her daughter’s life was in grave danger, she cried out to God, and God protected her, like the day the community wanted to necklace her.
“I was recovering after an operation at home when I got the call that community members were going to necklace her because she allegedly stole money from one of them. I cried out the Lord and prayed. Her uncle luckily intervened and was able to get to her before they could get a chance to go ahead.”
Aletta says that after the event, it came out that her daughter did not steal the money and the accuser came to her house to apologise. This was one of many incidences her daughter almost lost her life.
Out of desperation in 2011 Aletta cried out to God one night. “I asked God what needed to be done. I cried all night and then God reminded me of Nehemiah’s story of how he had reconstructed the walls of Jerusalem. The walls of Jerusalem were falling and that is what’s happening with our youth. Our youth are in danger, their lives are broken.”
Aletta then had a vision in which God told her she needed to start her own political party to win back the youth of the country.
“Our children are vulnerable; the devil is using them to do bad things. They are involved in drugs and all sorts of bad things. When these children are doing bad things we need to ask ourselves who is controlling them,” she says.
The vision was so powerful it brought Aletta to her knees and she cried the whole night.
“My heart was utterly broken, seeing our children, in this vision, are the camp of the enemy.”
At first, establishing a political party seemed like an impossible task, but the Lord kept pressing on Aletta’s heart to do this. She fasted for 40 days, after which God gave her a vision, mission and even a logo, with colours and all to be used for the party.
“We are called by God to heal the land, and lead the land,” she says. The colours of the party are red and yellow. Yellow represents the light of Jesus (and us leading the country) and the red is the blood of Jesus (healing the land) to protect us against our enemies. “Red and yellow are also the colours of fire, which represents the power of the Holy Ghost.”
In 2013 she registered the NCLP. “I just knew I had to obey God, I had no choice to just trust him.”
After she had the first vision, she also had many others, and has been working actively in the community to fight drug addictions.
“I just go into the people’s houses, and ask them If I can pray for them, then I find out that the parents and the children are sometimes on drugs.”
She says she then writes down the names of the children and she fervently prays for them.
“There are so many testimonies of people who come to me afterwards and tell me that their lives have been changed or that their children are saved and off the drugs. It warms my heart; it is in these moments that I know God is making a difference and he has a plan with my life.”
She says people around Cape Town were excited about what God was doing in her life and have commended her for following what the Lord had said to her. She still believes the Spirit of Lord will hit hard on people and they will help in reconnecting the youth to God.
“We need to take the children out of the community and train them to be soldiers of the Lord. When they come out they will be the salt of the world,” she says.
“The Lord is continuously busy working behind the scenes in the hearts of the people.”
Her daughter is currently “clean” and hasn’t been using drugs for three years. “She is getting married now, I am so happy! It is just so rewarding having her in my life again.”
She still believes God will change South Africa through her party.
“Just like Noah, I have to obey the Lord no matter what and wait for Him to come up with a rescue plan to save the youth.”
Although she sometimes feels she is not equipped for politics, she believes God will come through. “The Bible is filled with characters, like Moses, who were not equipped to do what the Lord wanted them to do. God always has a plan, we should just obey Him, and He will lead the way.”
She does not know what lies ahead, but is eager to listen to God’s voice every step of the way. “He will deliver on His promises.”