Born on August 31, 1976, in Nairobi, Kenya, Cedric was the son of Capt. Francis Babu, a former Kampala Central Member of Parliament and aviation pioneer, and Ms. Olive Kigongo, a prominent businesswoman and President of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. From an early age, Cedric displayed a remarkable love and talent for tennis, dominating Uganda’s junior circuits with championship titles in the U-12, U-14, and U-18 categories.
Cedric’s prowess on the court earned him a scholarship to Bethune-Cookman University in Florida, USA, where he played collegiate tennis while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He later expanded his academic achievements by earning a postgraduate degree in Computing and Information Systems from the University of Ulster in the UK, and later enrolled in an MBA program at the University of Miami.
Returning to Uganda, Cedric seamlessly transitioned from athlete to sports administrator. He was elected President of the Uganda Tennis Association (UTA) in 2011 and was re-elected in 2018. Under his leadership, the UTA regained full membership in the International Tennis Federation, expanded access to tennis through grassroots and wheelchair programs, and hosted multiple international professional tennis events, breathing new life into the sport nationally.
Cedric’s influence extended beyond the tennis court. In 2016, he served as the Uganda Olympic Team Manager at the Rio de Janeiro Games. From 2017 to 2021, he chaired the Marketing Commission of the Uganda Olympic Committee, where he strongly advocated for the integration of sports into Uganda’s broader national development agenda.
Outside of sports administration, Cedric became a household name in Uganda’s media landscape. In 2018, he was appointed Head of Corporate Communications, Sales, and Marketing at the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). That same year, he launched The Cedric Live Show, a popular Sunday evening program on UBC TV. The show featured in-depth conversations with political figures, creatives, entrepreneurs, and athletes, offering Ugandans thoughtful dialogue, inspiration, and a renewed sense of national pride. He also explored acting, taking on roles in local and regional productions where his eloquence and charisma stood out.
In 2020, Cedric entered politics, contesting for the Kampala Central parliamentary seat under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. He won the NRM primaries with 26,799 votes, reflecting strong support from within the party. His campaign was centered around urban development, youth empowerment, and leveraging sports and entertainment as drivers of economic transformation. Cedric also advocated for deeper investments in skills training and the alignment of sports with national planning efforts.
Cedric was closely affiliated with the Patriotic League of Uganda, a civic group led by General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of President Museveni and head of Uganda’s military. Within this group, Cedric served as Vice Chairman for Kampala and the Metropolitan area. He was widely anticipated to run as the NRM candidate for Kampala Central MP in the 2026 elections, with the incumbent, Muhammad Nsereko, opting not to contest.
As a devoted father of three, Cedric’s legacy lives on through his children. His son, Cillian Asante Ndilima, continued the family’s tennis tradition by securing a four-year scholarship in 2024 to the prestigious Evert Tennis Academy in Florida—a milestone widely celebrated in Uganda’s sports community. Despite his many professional accomplishments, Cedric remained humble and grounded, often emphasizing that Uganda’s greatest resource was its youth. He passionately believed in the power of investing in young people through sports, education, and innovation.
