"You're Motivating Us": SA Woman Goes From KFC Teller to SAPS Officer After Years of Grinding

• A Mzansi woman went viral after sharing how she worked her way through several jobs before eventually earning her SAPS badge
• She was ranked the second-best Clicks employee in the Northern Cape before resigning to pursue a marketing internship that paid far less
• South Africa’s unemployment rate stood at 31.9% in Q3 2025, making her journey remarkable to the thousands cheering her on
• Briefly News spoke to the Forensic Hun, real name Keletsamaile Kaweng, about her remarkable journey

She wore a KFC uniform long before she wore a badge. That’s the story of a woman from the Northern Cape who shared her remarkable climb from working at KFC to being fully qualified SAPS officer.

TikToker @forensic_hun, a Northern Cape-based woman, shared her career journey on the platform on 10 March 2026. She worked multiple jobs, some she loved, some she left. And she was juggling all while studying and pushing forward.

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A grind that most people would have quit

Her first job came while she was still completing her Diploma. She worked her way up to Shift Supervisor, then lost the job. She kept her eyes open and eventually landed a casual contract at Clicks. It was a November-to-January term that most people would have dismissed as too short to bother with. She took it anyway, and that decision paid off.

Clicks brought her on full-time, and she was ultimately ranked the second-best employee of the year.

The internship that cost her financially but not in spirit

Growth pulled her out of Clicks. She resigned to take up a Marketing Internship at Moeks Consulting Company. The environment was fine, but the pay was not.

While completing the internship, she applied to join the South African Police Service. For many, that’s a process that is no walk in the park. Candidates must pass fitness tests, psychometric assessments, and a thorough vetting process before even being considered for basic training.

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Badge earned the hard way

She packed her bags and headed to the Tshwane SAPS College for her Basic Police Development Learning Programme and completed it. Today, she is stationed at CSI, a specialised unit within SAPS.

Briefly News speaks to the Forensic Hun

Keletsamaile Kaweng, aka Forensic Hun told Briefly News that her journey was never a straight line, starting out in Christiana in the North West before relocating to the Northern Cape in 2015 to study. Her first job at KFC came while she was still completing her N6 qualification, with no prior experience to her name.

"I rose through the ranks, all while completing my studies," Kaweng said.

After losing that job, she picked herself up and walked into Clicks as a casual employee.

"Within a year, I was distinguished as the second-best employee across the Northern Cape region," she said.

Leaving a permanent position for an internship that paid far less was not an easy call, but Kaweng said her family made the decision easier.

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"My family's support played a significant role in this decision," she said. "I discovered my ability to thrive in new environments."

See the TikTok clip below:

Mzansi reacts to the woman’s journey

Briefly News compiled a series of comments from South Africans who found motivation in the woman’s journey below.

@MacTrump said:

“You are a giant. 🥰 What endurance.”

@Les_Fatso commented:

“Proverbs 13:4 says, ‘The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.’ You're a true fighter.❤️”

@Samson Matome wrote:

“Wish one day I can be you.”

@sis Law said:

“You are motivating us.”

@Mokotjo James highlighted:

“God is good all the time. Congratulations on your journey and achievement, girl.”

@Leika Love.:

“From scanning barcodes to scanning crime scenes. Every shift, every hustle, every grind led to this. Now you don’t just serve customers, you serve justice. 🔍🚨”

More career journeys on Briefly News

• A Shoprite employee's remarkable career progression, detailing many promotions since joining the company, went viral, wowing many.
• A South African woman went viral on TikTok after sharing her journey of starting at a call centre, earning R4,000.
• A young Eastern Cape entrepreneur’s rise from small-town beginnings to leading a global agency has captured major attention.

Source: Briefly News