MURDERED attorney Randall Hector expressed his abhorrence for the spate of violence crime now taking place in TT, in an address he gave from the podium of the SDA church at Stanmore Avenue, Port of Spain, moments before being slain by gunmen mere feet away from the church he had just left with his family.
Dressed in a smart suit, he stood at the lectern, held a microphone and spoke with warmth yet authority on December 31 at an Old Year's Night mas.
He wished the congregation and online viewers a "very happy, very prosperous and spirit-filled" new year.
"God has been very good to us." He thanked God for several testimonies given earlier by church members.
"Sometimes when you think about how God has been good to you, it is difficult to keep back the emotions, you know.
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"I really thank the Lord for those persons who spoke up this evening."
He hailed one particular church sister for always giving hope and likened her to a mother in ancient Israel who helped guide those individuals coming up in life.
"She has always had a profound impact, not only on the entire church but on me. When I first came into this church she was one of the first persons to welcome me and I thank God for her.
"Brethren, as we look forward to 2025, remember how good God has been to you."
Hector said TT has had a "very bloody" year for 2024.
"Right now we are under a state of emergency.
"But regardless of what is happening out there, God has protected us.
"God has sustained us and we are here to say 'God, we are with you for now and for evermore.'"
On January 1, a former class mate of Hector from Hugh Wooding Law School paid tribute to him online.
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The attorney said Hector was "our law school colleague and friend" and "a gentleman of peerless quality."
It was said that in law school, he mixed with everyone, despite nationality such as TT, Guyana or Barbados.
"He was humble, always with a smile on his face, smart, and bright as a bulb."
In the years after law school, nothing had changed.
"He fully distinguished himself as an exceptional lawyer, yet he remained to us the same Randall from law school – kind, impactful, good-natured."
While he had a strong, bellowing voice which resonated in a courtroom, nothing unkind ever came out of his mouth. "He was incapable of unkindness."
Down the years, he never lost an opportunity to ask how everyone from their law class was getting on in their lives and careers.
"He always wished everyone well. That was just the person he was.
"This is a deep and profound loss to our profession. Randall was the consummate lawyer.
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"Above all though, he was a warm, sincere and genuinely decent human being. He was not an equal amongst men: He rose high above."
