David Oyite Ojok (15 April 1940 – 2 December 1983) was a Ugandan military officer who held a leadership position in the coalition of Uganda National Liberation Army and Tanzania People's Defence Force which removed military dictator Idi Amin in 1979 and, until his death in a helicopter crash, served as the national army chief of staff with the rank of major general.

Although there are few documented details regarding David Oyite Ojok's early years, he was initially noted in his late twenties as a junior army officer serving during the 1966–71 period of President Milton Obote's first government.

In September 1970, while Idi Amin was out of the country serving as the Ugandan representative at the funeral of President Nasser of Egypt, Obote appointed a new Chief of Defence Staff (Brigadier Suleman Hussein).

By 1971, Oyite-Ojok served as lieutenant colonel,[2] but was forced to flee his home country when Idi Amin overthrew Obote in a coup.

[12][13] After this failure, Obote reorganized his remaining forces; he mobilized a "navy" of six boats on Lake Victoria which would conduct smuggling operations to finance the rebels as well as set up an underground network in Uganda.

Oyite-Ojok assumed a key role in the grouping of military exiles who, with the backing of Tanzanian troops, led the counteroffensive which resulted in the overthrow of Amin.

[17] Oyite Ojok became a member, along with Yoweri Museveni, Paulo Muwanga and Tito Okello, of the Military Commission, a powerful sub-committee of the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) which ruled the country after Idi Amin's overthrow.

On the one side were those from the North who made up the bulk of the new national army, and on the other those from the South (particularly those from the Buganda tribe) who for the first time since 1964 had significant political and military influence.

[2] As chief of staff of the UNLA in its new role as Uganda's national army, Oyite Ojok was supposed to stay neutral and above the political disputes.

It is widely believed that it was this opposition to Obote's return and the growing influence of the northern dominated army that led to the removal of Yusuf Lule from the Presidency after only 2 months in office.

The UNLF became more militaristic in appearance as army officers like Ojok became actively involved in politics, and the quasi-legislative National Commission and government ministers became less significant.

Firmly rooted in tribalist ideas, the officer believed that the elections would decide which ethnic group controlled Uganda's wealth.

Museveni, who had formed a rival political party, the Uganda Patriotic Front, disputed the result and started a guerrilla war against the government.

This phenomenon was called "Panda Gari" ("Climb the Truck") and it instilled widespread fear in the capital as many of those taken to army barracks were beaten or killed.

The majority of the army foot soldiers were Acholi and it was they who suffered most casualties in the war, and it is rumoured that they wanted to engage in peace talks with the guerrillas.

[2] In the decades following the helicopter crash which ended David Oyite Ojok's life at the age of 43, documented details have not been made public.

One obvious candidate, Bazilio Olara-Okello who, although unrelated to Tito Okello, was, as in the case of Oyite Ojok, another officer who participated in the overthrow of Idi Amin.