Born in Musumba, Lualaba District,[1] a member of the Lunda tribe and a nephew of the Katangan leader, Moise Tshombe, Nguza was a pock-marked child who rose rapidly through government posts and gained the favour of President Mobutu Sese Seko.

However, in 1977, he fell out of favor with Mobutu, who accused Nguza of attempting to seduce the first lady[citation needed] while simultaneously plotting high treason, and was imprisoned and sentenced to death.

During his interrogation, Nguza was subjected to torture which included the insertion of a metal tube into his penile shaft, through which jets of air were introduced, causing the blood vessels to rupture, and the application of electrical shocks to his testicles.

In 1981, while on a private visit to Brussels with his wife,[4] Nguza fled into exile, where he attempted to unite the exiled Zairean opposition and testified against Mobutu in front of U.S. Congress hearings, outlining, in graphic detail, Mobutu's theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from the country's treasury and its subsequent deposit in foreign banks.

His party formed a new coalition, the Alliance of Patriotic Forces, which was committed to political reform but rejected "extremist" stances.