Born in Kampala, Uganda, Obua played for a number of clubs in his native Uganda including Police FC. He also spent some time in Mauritius and in the United States, where he played for Raleigh Capital Express and Wilmington Hammerheads whilst attending college. Obua was spotted by Kaizer Chiefs while playing for the Uganda national team against South Africa and was offered a 3-year contract. He made his debut on 11 August 2005 in a 2–0 win over Dynamos. He scored his first Chiefs goal in the Soweto derby on 29 October 2005. Obua impressed during his time in South Africa, winning the championship and South African Player of the Year in season 2006–07. After expiry of his Kaizer Chiefs contract he was available on a free transferin the summer of 2008. He landed a trial with Premier League clubWest Ham United, before agreeing a deal with Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian. On 6 August, it was revealed that Obua was granted a work permit and had signed for Hearts. He found life in the SPL difficult in his first two seasons, although he did see an improvement in his form when Jim Jefferies replaced his former national manager Csaba László. In the absence of a target man, Obua was often played in the unfamiliar role of striker. Obua scored the winner in an Edinburgh derby at Easter Road, home of arch rivalsHibernian. Obua was sent off at Hearts' home match against Celtic on 11 May 2011 at an eventual 3–0 loss. He scored the opening goal of the 2011–12 SPL season against Rangers at Ibrox with a header from a corner. Obua was told in April 2012 that his contract with Hearts would not be extended. On 25 March 2015 Obua retired from football, however, he subsequently trained with Kampala club Kampala Capital City Authority FC to keep up his fitness.
International career
David Obua began playing for the Cranes during his time at Super League club Express FC. In September 2007, Obua scored a hat-trick for Uganda in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Niger which Uganda won 3–1. On 10 October 2011, he reportedly refused to meet with the President of the Republic of Uganda in their training camp and also had not been in good terms with the FUFA president, he vowed never to play for Uganda again, at least while president Lawrence Mulindwa and head coach Bobby Williamson were involved with the setup. He scored his first goal for Uganda against Ghana on July 3, 2004 at Nakivubo Stadium
Career statistics
Managerial career
In September 2018, Obua became the assistant coach of Maroons FC and signed a three-year contract, working alongside head coach George Nsimbe. In an interview with Kwesé Sports, George Nsimbe praised Obua, stating, “Am glad that am going to work with former Uganda cranes legend Obua and I believe we shall triumph together, We'll work together as a team to drive Maroons FC in the right direction”.
