Star Of Queen of Katwe Nikita Pearl Waligwa Passes Away of Brain Tumor at Age of 15
It is with a heavy heart that we here at MickeyBlog share the news of the passing of Disney’s ‘Queen of Katwe’ star Nikita Pearl Waligwa at the age of 15. She played the role of Gloria in the film alongside Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o. The film was about a chess prodigy from a slum in Uganda.
The cause of death was a brain tumor. Nikita Pearl had a long struggle with cancer. Doctors first discovered the tumor back in 2016. She was told she was cancer-free in 2017 after radiotherapy. According to a recent post in the Daily Mail her recovery was dubbed a miracle.
However, unfortunately her cancer returned and she passed away last night in a Kampala hospital according to local authorities. During her initial diagnosis, legendary film director Mira near raised public awareness of Nikita’s condition and raised funds to help cover the cost of her treatment in India.
You can check out a trailer for the Queen of Katwe here:
The film, released in 2016, is based on a true story and tells the story of Phiona Mutesta who is introduced to chess through a charity worker Robert Katende. She encourages the children in Katwe to play the strategy game and Phiona quickly surpasses her friends in the ghettos and goes on to compete in professional tournaments with competitors from much more privileged backgrounds.
Waligwa was in her senior year at Gayaza High School at the time of her death