Addressing a seminar of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria today, Jiba said claims that her office was playing politics in various criminal cases were merely “perception”.

“They (accusations) are perception. We try to prosecute without fear, favour or prejudice,” said Jiba, who would not be drawn on the so-called Zuma spy tapes.

Jiba would not comment further on the court case involving the “spy tapes”, saying “it’s difficult for me to express views on it”.

She said the independence of the NPA was important to ensure the effectiveness and the efficiency of the criminal justice system.

Her comments come as the Sunday Times reported on Sunday that prosecutors were adamant that President Jacob Zuma’s corruption case should go ahead, despite having been dropped because of allegations that some senior prosecutors were politically involved in the case.

The NPA, on Saturday, attempted to interdict the Sunday Times from reporting on the 300 pages of communication between prosecutors leaked to the newspaper.

Jiba said the NPA was engaging with Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to thrash out ways to improve the performance of her office.

“We are alive to the challenges facing us but there is no doom or gloom in the organisation. We’re yet to find a perfect system of prosecution, but we strive to be open, transparent and consistent,” said Jiba, adding that the NPA’s performance was good.