Lupita mourns 'Queen of Katwe' actress

Lupita Nyong’o has eulogised her fellow actress, 15-year-old  Nikita Pearl Walingwa who passed on last Saturday.

The two had roles in the movie Queen of Katwe which was released in 2016 where Lupita played Nakku Harriet the motherof Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga)m a close friend to Gloria (Nikita).

Taking to her Instagram account on Monday, the 36-year-old wrote:

“It is with great sadness that I post about the passing of Nikita Waligwa, the sweet, warm talented girl who I worked with on a 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.”
Nikita died on Saturday night at TMR International Hospital in Kampala. She was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2016 but and a year later doctors declared her cancer free after undergoing review.

The cancer would return in early 2019 with the tumour affecting the sensitive part of her brain responsible for movement of limbs, eyesight and speech.
Uganda media reports that Nikita will be buried today Monday 17, in Kabojja, Central Uganda.