 Between 1977 and 1983 Benny and his family, along with thousands of other highlanders, lived in hiding in the jungle.He was appointed leader by the elders in his tribe, and later after the Lani people surrendered to the Indonesian military he attended a state university, in Jayapura, studying Sociology.Wenda became Secretary-General of Demmak (Dewan Musyawarah Masyarakat Koteka), the Koteka Tribal Assembly.