This is pretty weird to me, I’ve had one of these boxes for years and never noticed that behaviour … ended up having one remote break and ordered another, still no issue like that.
I wonder if this isn’t an accessibility setting in the software which got activated somehow? I’d recommend trying a full factory reset of the box.
Once you’ve re-paired the remote, it might be resolved. Failing that, you can only try get another replacement remote (it seems Takealot doesn’t stock the replacement Maverick remotes anymore).