Liberia: Weah’s Airport Authority Appointee Has Fake Credentials

When President Weah decided to appoint Darlington T. Karnley as the new managing director of the Liberia Airport Authority (LAA), he may have thought that possessed the relevant qualification and work experience. After all, there was much technical jargon in his resumé. 

But beyond the jargon, is a set of alleged qualifications that are either outright lies or, at best, inflated. 

At first, a release from the Liberian presidency claimed that the LAA’s Managing Director-designate, who is yet to be confirmed by the Senate, has “a rich background in the field of Aviation and is a Master's Degree Candidate in aviation management from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Philadelphia (AIM).”

However, a visit to the AIM website says otherwise, as there is no course being offered in Aviation Management. 

It was further established that AIM was more of a technical school and not a degree-granting institution, as Darlington claimed when he submitted his CV to the Liberian Presidency. 

Courses offered by the school include  aviation maintenance technician (AMT), aviation maintenance technician avionics (AMTA), maintenance technician, professional aviation maintenance certification online course, and unmanned aircraft systems. 

The Daily Observer has learned that the LAA-appointed MD earned a professional certificate in aviation maintenance from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance and is not a master's candidate in aviation management in Philadelphia as claimed. 

Karnley’s profile, released by the Weah administration, also failed to state where he completed his undergraduate studies. However it  has been gathered that he attended Cuttington University for three years before leaving for the United States. His time at the University was between 2010 and 2013. 

He is believed to have worked at Radio Advent as Program Director, before traveling to the United States in 2014. 

On his work experience, the Weah Administration said the Karnley works at Boeing, America's leading aircraft manufacturer as an avionics tech specialist manager, managing all installations, inspections, tests, adjusting, or repairing avionics equipment, such as radar, radio, navigation, and missile control systems in aircraft or space vehicles.

This, also, could not be verified. Another search using Boeing Zoominfo Directory where the names and titles of all their employees/contractors are uploaded as per region did not show the Darlington T. Karnley or anything similar to it.

In the directory, a single name did not appear matching President Weah’s appointee’s full name or his position title, “avionics tech specialist. 

Rather, the Daily Observer has learned that Karnley works for Duncan Aviation, the largest privately owned business jet service provider in the world. However, even this information is yet to be verified.

Duncan Aviation’s services involve complete maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service offerings at three US facilities, strategically placed regional shops, and mobile technical teams able to provide services worldwide and, at the same time, provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for Boeing.

Karnley’s appointment comes as President Weah administration has been in search for qualified  and experienced personnel to run the Roberts International Airport, which has been in crisis. 

One such crisis has been  power outage problems — the latest instance being the power outage on the night of April 27, which forced an inbound Brussels Airlines flight to return to Freetown, after attempting to land.

The incident caused panic over the safety of the passenger's crew aboard the aircraft. 

The running of an international airport or system of airports requires much more experience than simply maintenance and repair of aircraft. 

In fact, the portfolio for which Darlington has been nominated by the Liberian Government will hardly require him to be directly involved with aircraft maintenance unless, of course, President George M. Weah wishes to have Karnley be directly in charge of maintenance for the presidential jet. 

Meanwhile, sources suggest that  the questionable newly appointed LAA Manager, has been a career comedian and pianist in the USA.

According to sources, churches in the USA often hire him to play piano and, at times, he’s hired as a comedian at weddings, parties, and other social gatherings.   

“There’s no course in aviation management that is offered at AIM in Philadelphia. Not even at certificate level or diploma level. Karnley lied about being a master’s degree candidate in Aviation at AIM," said Martin Kollie, a critic of the Weah administration. "Like we’ve said, AIM is a trade school for beginner mechanics in aircraft maintenance.  You do not even need a high school diploma to be enrolled into AIM, you just need its equivalency.” 

The Campaigners for Academic Crimes Court (CACC), headed by Kollie, said it will not allow anyone to use fake credentials from abroad in Liberia.

 “We’re calling on the Liberian Senate to vehemently reject President Weah’s nominee for the airport  because he is unfit to serve such post.”

He further said that, if the Senate does not have any committee to verify and/or check the credentials of would-be nominees or appointees of government, the CACC stands prepared to offer its voluntary services. 

“We have the capacity and expertise to countercheck and carry out thorough due diligence. We’re willing to help. The fake degrees in Liberia are too much," Kollie stated.