Young actress of the Disney 2016 film ‘Queen of Katwe’ Nikita Pearl Waligwa, is reported dead by Ugandan newspaper The Daily Monitor.
According to the report, Nikita died of a brain tumor which she was diagnosed with in 2016. After her performance in ‘Queen of Katwe’ alongside Hollywood stars, David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o, director of the film Mira Nair mobilized some funds for her to be treated in India, which resulted to a tumor free in 2017. In spite of her free tumor declaration, another one was found last year leading to an early death over the weekend.
Stars of the film, Lupita and David have paid their last respect to Nikita via their Instagram handles saying, “We mourn the loss of our beautiful Nikita Pearl Waligwa. She was a ball of light in @queenofkatwemovie and in life. Her battle with a brain tumor was humbling to witness. Her light will live on. #rip,” captioned Oyelowo beneath a shared picture of Gloria telling the rules of chess.
Lupita also wrote, “It is with great sadness that I post about the passing of Nikita Waligwa, the sweet, warm, talented girl whom I worked with on the film Queen of Katwe. She played Gloria with such vibrancy. In her real life she had the enormous challenge of battling brain cancer. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and community as they come to terms with having to say goodbye so soon. May she truly rest in peace. May it be well with her soul.”
In ‘Queen of Katwe’, Nikita played the role of Phiona’s friend Gloria, who explained the rules of chess to her. At the time of her death, she was a senior three student at Gayaza High School. She was 15.
May her soul rest in peace!
