Hollywood Actress Lupita Nyongó has sent an emotional tribute to the fallen co-star Nikita Pearl Waligwa, the Ugandan teenage actress who died of Cancer last Saturday
Nikita portrayed Gloria in the 2016 Disney movie Queen of Katwe,
Lupita posted on her instagram page saying: “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 piece. May it be well with her soul.”
Harriet Nakku, the mother of Phiona Mutesi, the lead actress in Queen of Katwe – shared a picture of Nikita with the quote from the film, “In chess, the small one can become the big one.”
David who also played teacher Robert Katende in the heart-warming movie – also posted a moving tribute in which he said Nikita’s “light will live on.”
He wrote alongside the same image: “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 cancer was humbling to witness. Her light will live on. #rip (sic)”
Nikita was first diagnosed with a brain cancer in 2016, and was in remission a year later, however, another tumour was found in 2019.
A member of her family shared details on Nikita’s poor health before she succumbed: “The brain was swollen and it was exerting a lot of pressure.”
Nikita was set to undergo more surgery to remove the tumour when she sadly passed away.
The actress was laid to rest on Monday at her father’s home in Kabojja, a suburb of Kampala.
