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Leon Lionel Meyer (1960 - 1985) was an exiled South African anti-apartheid activist and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) member who was assasinated by Vlakplaas members on the 19 December 1985 during a cross border raid on his home in Maseru, Lesotho.

Early Life
Meyer was born in East London and lived there until his anti-apartheid stance attracted the attention of the East London Security Police. By the age of 16, Meyer had already been detained and was subjected to constant abuse and torture by the police which led him to be forced to go into exile after finishing high school. Along with Cliffie Brown, Meyer fled South Africa in early 1979 to become an African National Congress ANC exile living in Maseru, Lesotho.

Life in exile
After spending time living as an exile in Lesotho, Meyer visited Angola, Cuba and East Germany as an ANC representative. He eventually returned to Maseru and married Jacqueline Anne Quinn, a South African schoolteacher. In 1982, Meyer narrowly escaped death after South African Defence Force troops made an insurgence into Maseru and killed a number of exiles and Lesotho citizens. The attack, which resulted in the death of many comrades and nearly killed Chris Hani, traumatised Meyer and caused him great sorrow. It was the birth of his daughter in 1984 which led to Meyer naming her Phoenix, a mythical bird which rose from the ashes after burning itself on a funeral pile.

Death
During the late hours of the 19 of December 1985, Vlakplaas members entered Meyer's home, killed his wife Jaqueline, then found him in the bathroom and shot him. A wounded Meyer climbed through the burglar bars and dragged himself to his neighbour's house where he told them it was the boers and that they had killed his wife. Meyer died shortly afterwards. Their daughter Phoenix, just one years old, witnessed the attack but was found unharmed in her cot.

Seeking the Truth
The South African government did not take responsibility for the attack and it was not until 1996, during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission TRC, that the Quinn family demanded to know who was responsible for the murder of Meyer and their daughter Jacqueline. Soon after the hearing, it was revealed that the perpetrators were the security police's Vlakplaas Unit which included their commander, Eugene de Kock, Steve Bosch, Snor Vermeulen, Joe Coetzer, Anton Adamson, Dave Willemse and several other unamed black policemen.