Nikita Pearl Waligwa, the young Ugandan newcomer who starred in “Queen of Katwe,” the 2016 Disney film about a chess champion coming of age, has died of a brain tumour at the age of 15.
Her death was announced on Sunday by Gayaza High School, an all-girls boarding school outside the Ugandan capital of Kampala where Nikita Waligwa had been a student. The high school said on Twitter, “You were a darling to many and we have lost you to a brain tumour at such a tender age.”
See its tweet below:
Fare thee well Nikita Pearl Waligwa. You were a darling to many and we have lost you to brain tumor at such a tender age. Nikita was in S.3. Rest in Perfect Peace dear pic.twitter.com/ny8I9YAjsQ
— Gayaza High School (@gayazahigh) February 16, 2020
The announcement prompted an outpouring of tributes from some of Waligwa’s co-stars in “Queen of Katwe,” which was based on a 2011 essay in ESPN The Magazine, about a chess prodigy in Uganda who grows up in a slum and wins international competitions. The film starred Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo.
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In the film, Nikita Waligwa played Gloria, a friend of the protagonist, Phiona Mutesi, who was played by Madina Nalwanga.
Phiona becomes a chess whiz with help from Gloria and under the tutelage of Robert Katende, played by David Oyewolo. Mira Nair directed the film which also starred Lupita Nyong’o, an Oscar winner for “12 Years a Slave,” as Phiona’s mother.
“She played Gloria with such vibrancy. In 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,” Lupita Nyong’o said on Instagram.
“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 tumour was humbling to witness. Her light will live on,” David Oyewolo wrote on Instagram.
“Queen of Katwe” was also the film debut of both Nikita Waligwa and Madina Nalwanga.
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