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.