I am sorry

The mother of murdered 17-year-old Sadiuq Maloney, at his funeral on Monday, apologised to him for not being able to save him. Maloney was shot several times on March 5 when he returned to his Las Lomas apartment at around 10.30 pm.

Kinda Hall read a letter, written by her, at the Angel Michael Healing Tabernacle, Enterprise, Chaguanas.

She said: “Our heart aches with so much sadness, anger, and despair since the day you left us. You left us far too early, before your time. We can’t stop crying. We miss you so much and we can’t begin to tell you how sorry we are.

“We are saddened by the fact that we won’t get to see the man you would have turned out to be. Your aunts, uncles and cousins mourn you. We are all very sorry we couldn’t save you and shade you from all of this.

“The fact that you are no longer here will always cause us pain, but those special memories of you will always bring a smile on our faces. Until then, our memories of you will live on forever.”

Bishop Ronald Gulston, who officiated at the funeral, said Maloney had lost his way. He then commended Hall for trying her best.

He said,"The Children’s Authority feel they done all and they have this and that law, but there's one law – God's law."

Maloney was described as a child who loved playing the big brother role. He loved hunting, the church, playing the drums, eating and watching TV.

Months before he was killed, his mother moved out of Chaguanas hoping that a new environment would sway Maloney away from the “fast life.”

Before this, she went to the Children’s Court, telling them Maloney was involved in a robbery in 2018. This was an attempt to convince the court that if Maloney was placed in a rehabilitation centre or a home, he may have been discouraged from gang activity.

She told Newsday last Tuesday at the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James, that the court denied her request because, “They cannot do anything because the Chinese people he robbed didn't make a formal report."

Hall said the court failed her and her son. She believes he would have been alive if the court had done what she begged it to do a year ago. She said her son was recruited by gang members who promised him an easy life and she said “It was the life he preferred.”

She told Newsday, after the funeral she will keep her promise and take pictures of her son in his coffin to show the court. Hall said the friend she warned him about is the person responsible for his death and also for his uncle’s death years ago.

He was buried in the same grave as his uncle at the Longdenville cemetery.